Smash Wars X
by Nio Hashiri's Riddles
Summary: What if the Smashers in Smash Brothers were vampires and the game was a popular game show? Well, that's exactly what Smash Wars X is! Mario, a vampire iced out due to years of inactivity and Sonic, a Mobian mortal tortured by his past as a slave, find each other and enter the tournament, only to be faced with many dangers. Can they win the whole shebang? (Mario x Human Sonic)
1. The Meeting

**Don't judge my teams, because I mainly chose them both randomly and based on differing abilities, and why not give some love to forgotten characters? Who actually remembers Impa from Legend of Zelda, Pom Pom from Super Mario 3D Land, Mist and Nyna from Fire Emblem, Galactia Knight from Kirby or Shokora from Wario Land 3? I thought I'd give certain characters some love. Also, all non-human characters ARE human in this story.**

 **The way it goes is that all "Controllers" (aka Smash-originated characters, but with some exceptions) are vampires and their "Limiters" are mortal (again, some exceptions).**

 **Also, this is a SonicxMario story (I love that pairing) so if you don't like, don't read! This is an T/M rating due to references to torture, fantasy violence, self-harm, suicide, and character death.** **References to rape are also included but NEVER happens.**

 **The story is inspired by animes such as Absolute Duo, Soul Eater and Black Bullet among many, many others.**

 **Apologies for the rant. Please enjoy and also review!**

 **XO**

He hated being bottom.

Going from the top to the bottom so fast, just like a rock does in water, hits hard on your confidence. It's even worse when you have an ultimatum to worry about.

"If you ever find yourself another Limiter…" Master Hand, the CEO of the Smash Wars X fighting tournament had begun. "…I will not accept another failure. Succeed in getting into the top 5 and I will spare your life. If not…well…let's just say one dorm room will be empty by sunset's end on the final day."

He shivered at that prospect. Death sounded horrifying. It's even worse when you're a vampire. Yeah, all Controllers in the tournament were full-blown vampires, carnivorous for mortal blood or not. Yet, death might not be so bad. He had out of fighting for 3 tournaments now, and the mocking seemed to get worse and worse every single day. He just stayed in his room and watching the day's events unfold. Tournaments lasted almost 1 year, each week having each team fight another. In less technical terms, a team had a fight once every week, and there at least 7 to 8 fights a day. There were 50 teams in the tournament, 51 when he was an active fighter. He couldn't seem to keep Limiters for long. He had had two before now and both had died through…gruesome means. Master Hand blamed him entirely, called his a pathetic excuse for a contender, and most of the other teams ganged up on him for the sole reason he was a Limitless, a person without a partner. It made him feel empty and alone, giving him the ideology that things would be better without him.

…Sometimes…he toyed with the idea of dying. Did he have a reason to live? Not really.

 _I wonder what it's like to die…_

XO

He hated remembering.

All the pain, all the scars that prevented even his closest friends from landing a finger on him…it really destroyed the self-esteem he had, low as it was. He was a pathetic child, one who had foolishly trusted a man he never knew. Being a slave was hard, but the torture that came unexpectedly with the package was the real kicker.

"I saved your life, so you can't order me around." His "owner" had told him when he tried to speak up against the pain he was being dished out, screaming in agony as a burning pain landed on his cheek. "I can do to you what I like. No-one will care for a tribal, feral animal like yourself!"

He violently shuddered. Sure, he was a "Mobian", a human with animal traits, such as ears, tail and a talent of understanding animals. Unfortunately, he met the cruel fate many Mobians did, being caught by hunters and sold as a servant to anyone who wanted him. He thought he could bare it. He thought he would gain freedom soon enough and then do whatever he wanted. He was dead wrong. 5 years of torture, confinement and endless and agonising pain prevented touch and trust, and it wasn't long before he found himself unable to live a normal life, something he had craved for years. He remembered the stares, the glares, the yells of his stupidity when he entered a traumatic flashback when a hand latched onto his shoulder or he was hugged, which felt like he was being suffocated. People thought as him as stupid, a freak, an attention-seeking asshole. All that hurt. He had been through hell and no-one seemed to give a damn. If he couldn't live a normal life, was there a reason to living?

He had always feared death, but now the idea was appealing to him. Did he have a reason to live? No, he didn't.

 _I wonder how it feels to finally put your pain at rest…?_

XO

 _~ January 4_ _th_

The Smash Wars X "Mansion", situated high in the hills, meant blizzards during the cold winter months was inevitable. Of course, Master Hand had sent HIM of all people to find wood because his pyrokinesis meant the cold couldn't touch him. He darkly grumbled as he finally realized he hadn't found a stick of wood that was actually dry, and any good logs he had found were badly damp and were no good. It made his body shake with rage as the truth dawned on him. He had been tricked. Again. Maybe. Maybe not. He shook the snow from his crimson cap, labelled with an M, the first letter of his first name, which was Mario. He had a brother and a rival who did a similar thing with an L and a W, abbreviations for Luigi and Wario, respectively. He heard wolves howl in the distance. He greatly feared wolves, but the sounds also intrigued him. They sounded excited.

 _Must have found a meal in this snowstorm._

He then froze.

 _No living creature would be stupid enough to be out in a storm like this, human or not…unless…_

He listened closely to the howls to get a location but his concentration was broken as a blast of heat hit him. A lifeforce. Not an animal one, a human one. He felt the smell of mortal blood hit the receptors in his nose, the lifeforce willing him to follow. Yet, it felt…different than the lifeforce of the Limiters back at the Mansion. The lifeforce, despite it making Mario feel unnerved and somewhat hungry (though his kind had a pact of not feeding off mortals), felt like a punch to his gut. He was right. The wolves had found a meal, but not of the "prey" kind. As his walking speed accelerated into a run, he found where the wolves were. There were about 7 of them, circling something in the snow. He didn't have time to see who it was. Whoever it was though, they weren't moving nor putting up any kind of fight, meaning they were in serious danger. He fired up a fireball and launched it at one of the wolves, alerting the entire pack.

"That's right, you scum bags! Over here!" He taunted, forming a blade of flames and launching in, wounding each wolf with a quick slash and stab, but resolved to not kill them. They weren't evil. Wolves hunt for survival. How were they to know better? Eventually, the pack had enough and the alpha wolf led them away, leading him to snort and nod. "And don't come back!" Huffing for breath, he remembered the human. He was lying in an awkward position in the snow. He was dressed shockingly lightly, just a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a very thin hoodie. Not proper snow clothing. He looked young too, around 15 or 16 years of age at least. He had a thick lock of azure hair, but he could see ears sticking up through his hair, alongside a small pointy tail to match. His skin was ice cold when he went to examine him. The boy was pale and only faintly shivering. He gently brought him up into his arms, using his powers to make his own skin warm to hopefully keep the boy alive until he got back to the Mansion, seeing as he was both cold and badly bleeding from where the wolves had begun to take bites. The boy didn't seem to react. This made something kick in, a sense of urgency filled his brain. Master Hand could collect his own damn firewood. He lived by a very hero-like moral code, and leaving someone in the snow to freeze or bleed to death (whichever happened first) was a big no-no. It begged the question why someone so young would be up in the mountains in the first place, but the time for asking questions was later. He ran as fast as he could back up to the Mansion. He went around the back into the infirmary where his cousin Giovanni (also known throughout the Mansion as Dr. Mario) was. Despite being known as a Limitless, Giovanni was still kind and even defended his cousin on several occasions. As such, when he burst in with the boy in his arms, Giovanni ran straight into action, assessing the boy carefully.

"Where did you find him?" Giovanni asked.

"The forest." Mario huffed. "There were…there were wolves…" He said no more. Vampires may have been undead, but he could still get exhausted from a long period of running.

"He does have a few chunks missing." He took in the bloodied gashes along his body and froze. "…I doubt, however, they left already-existing scars." Confused, Mario glanced over. Scars, both of the line and curved variety, danced over the boy's body, covering everywhere from his chest to his arms and legs. They seemed endless. Some were even on the kid's face.

"…W-What has someone done to him?!"

"Who knows? We'll ask questions later." He looked hard at Mario. "He's badly hypothermic, but he should be OK as long as he has heat near him." Taking the hint, Mario formed a small ring around the boy's body and a faint scarlet aura surrounded him. It was known as a Fire Ring, which made mild summer-like temperatures circulate inside the barrier. It was also unbreakable and impervious to attacks, also preventing any of the other vampires from hurting the boy in his unstable condition. The good thing was the Fire Ring also had a regenerative effect so the hypothermia would fully be cured in around 15 minutes of exposure. Giovanni not only knew a weak kind of healing magic but could also negate the rules of the Fire Ring due to him being Mario's ally, so he was able to close up the wolf bites without any problem. Scars, on the other hand, were impossible to fix, seeing as the wounds had technically already healed. The infirmary door suddenly burst open. A white-haired man stormed in, his amber eyes focused on Mario and boy, did he looked ticked off.

"Where the hell have you been!?" He bellowed. That meant the firewood wasn't a trick. He fiddled with his fingers nervously.

"I…well…" MH, as was his nickname, could have yelled further but he had noticed the boy.

"Who the hell is this!?" He sniffed. "Hmmm…a mortal…and yet his scent doesn't get my vampiric genes excited…strange…"

"Lay off, MH." Giovanni scolded. "Mario saved an innocent's life, cut him some slack! He battled a pack of wolves!"

"Oh, yeah right. He couldn't beat a mouse."

"There were 7 of them, MH." Mario defended.

"Yeah, and I'm a monkey's cousin." He left then, spitting. Mario felt a bad shudder run down his spine as all the suicidal feeling came back. Giovanni patted his shoulder.

"Don't let them get to you. One day, I'm sure you'll show them."

"…Yeah, and pigs will fly." He turned to leave, but a high-pitched whimper came out of nowhere. Realizing the child was responding now, Mario dimmed the power of the Fire Ring and tentatively touched the boy's shoulder, only for an ear-splitting scream to come from the boy's throat as he lashed out blindly, his now-open eyes, which shone a bright emerald, blank with a wild flame. He continued screaming for a couple of minutes until he fell silent, huffing for breath as he curled into a defensive ball like a hedgehog did when it was scared, hands over his little ears and eyes scrunched up in terror; his body violently trembling. Throughout the entire episode, the two men had scrambled back in alarm and MH had re-entered the room, also alarmed at the sheer panic in the boy's scream. Mario scooted around the bed and kneeled, but refrained from making physical contact with the youth. "Shush now, it's alright, kid. I'm not going to hurt you." The boy looked at him cautiously and warily and yet he felt almost at ease when he saw the friendly gleam in the male's eyes. He didn't speak but nodded a greeting. "Do you have a name? My name is Mario."

"…Mario?" The boy finally spoke. His tone was quiet, but Mario recognised the tone of a scared teenager. "...Sonic. My name's Sonic."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sonic." Sonic felt more at ease seeing Mario smile friendlily, but part of him refused to acknowledge the gesture of friendliness. "How are you feeling?"

"….Cold."

"Hang on." He increased the heat of his Fire Ring, leaving Sonic understandably confused as he embraced the heat. Mario chuckled. "I have pyrokinesis."

"…Oh, right…" No emotion came in his voice, making Mario's smile fade a little. Whatever caused the scars was obviously to blame. The signs of what he theorized was wrong with Sonic were there. The scarring, the screaming upon physical contact, the lack of eye contact and the fact there was no emotion of any kind apparent, both in his facial expressions or in his barely-audible voice. Mental trauma. On a bad or even severe scale.

"Hey, it's alright, y'know. I promise nothing is going to happen." He could tell the boy wasn't convinced. "If I may ask…I can tell you're human but what's with the…um…" He pointed to Sonic's ears, which cutely twitched on cue.

"Oh, them? I'm a Mobian." His voice was a bit louder but Mario didn't recognise the name, so he shrugged.

"Sorry, you've lost me."

"The Mobian Tribe? Humans infected with the Stigma Virus?" Mario was still confused.

"…Nope, still lost."

"Jesus, you're dumb." Came a snap but he began explaining. "The Stigma Virus is an infection that bind human and animal DNA together. Depending on when you were treated, it depicts what "tribe" you belong to. I was caught relatively early, so my animal DNA is roughly 10%, making me Mobian, and I'm left with ears and a tail. Weirdly I got caught with hedgehog DNA so that might explain several…well…hedgehog habits."

"I've never heard of such a thing…though it explains Fox and several others…" _Also explains the whines and him crawling into a ball._

"Enough of this stupid chit-chat." MH ordered, looking at Sonic. "As for you, you don't belong here, boy. Make like a tree and leave before I throw you out."

When Sonic cowered and started whimpering in a terrified manner, both Mario and Giovanni defended him by becoming a barrier between the two males.

"Leave him alone! What has he done to you!?" Giovanni yelled. When MH snorted and gestured to the door, Giovanni groaned. "Sure, just because he's mortal, he has to leave." He added in a sarcastic voice. MH's eyes narrowed into amber slits, like a cat about to pounce.

"You know the dangers of mortal-vampire interactions!"

… _Vampire…?_

"I'm sure the others will be so bothered with the upcoming tourney in 2 weeks that they won't give him a second look!" Mario argued.

 _They're…bloodsucking vampires…!?_

Weirdly, after realizing this, Sonic didn't scream, but he felt like it. He hadn't realized he was hyperventilating until Giovanni turned around and realized something was wrong.

"Stop talking, all of you." He ordered, reaching to slowly and calmly touch Sonic's shoulder but he got nowhere near as Sonic pushed everyone away and actually fell off the bed, landing on his shoulder with a cringe-worthy thud. Nevertheless, he backed away from them until his back came into contact with the wall.

"We…shouldn't have said anything about our species, should we, MH?" Mario glared at the male who sheepishly chuckled.

"Uh-uh…er…my bad."

"Y-Y-You're all vampires…?" Sonic shakily asked, trying to make himself as small as possible to make himself seem less desirable. The last way he wanted to die is by having his blood sucked or having his neck penetrated by two razer-sharp fangs.

"Yes, but we're not…well… _that_ type of vampire. We only hunt animals. We would never kill or bite a mortal such as yourself, vampire's word of honour." Mario swore, getting a strange look but at least Sonic semi-relaxed. He tensed again when MH chuckled.

"Look at him cower! Man, is he a wuss." A whimper came from the hedgehog-boy. Mario glared at him.

"Be a bully one more time and I'll literally break the rules and attack you."

"Do that and I'll kill you, fire freak." MH formed a sword of energy and slashed Mario in the stomach before he got a chance to dodge. Blood dripped from the gash. "Consider that a visual warning." Sonic watched in both shock and horror as Giovanni tended to his brother while an amused fire danced in MH's eyes.

He felt…he felt...

…Angry.

A sharp cold wind blew through the air, whipping through Sonic's hair. Everyone looked at him.

"Is…that…?" Mario muttered.

"Aerokinesis." MH finished. White mist formed around Sonic's hands as he clapped them together and MH got caught in a buffering tornado. He eventually freed himself, although it was clear he was extremely dizzy, evident by the swirls in his eyes and he slumped to the floor in a dead faint, which was pretty funny for all in the room.

"Well…he got what was coming to him." Mario commended, enjoying this small victory over his superior.

"That was cool." Giovanni praised, but got alarmed when Sonic's legs caved in as he gasped for breath. "You OK…!?" He rushed over to help but Sonic fanned him away.

"Y-Yeah…I-I'm alright…sorry…it's just been a while s-since I've used my powers." He looked at his hand. "…Heh…didn't e-even think they worked still." He looked at Mario. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I've had worse." Mario gritted his teeth and stood, clutching the wound. Giovanni was quick to stop the bleeding and he healed it with his powers. That's when MH snapped back to his senses and boy, did he look mad.

"Why I oughta…!" An energy claw slashed across Sonic, sending him tumbling across the room like a rag doll. A scream exited his mouth from both trauma and agony as he withered on the ground, almost like he was seizing. It was clear something wasn't right. It was like he was trying to fight something invisible or trying to resist against something violently. MH jumped at the initial sound of the scream, backing away in surprise and then again in horror as the spasms came. "…What in this world is WRONG with him?" No-one answered his question as both Mario and Giovanni were trying to calm him down while trying to mend the claw marks and the blood trickling down his chest.

"He has some sort of mental trauma, MH. It's pretty obvious by his reactions that we've seen thus far." Giovanni theorized. Sonic then fell silent apart from the occasional animalistic whine. Mario guessed he resorted to the feral side of his DNA when he was terrified, much like hedgehogs in the wild did. Giovanni gently soothed him through soft growls and gentle and quiet shushing noises, but again refrained from making physical contact. That seemed to be the trigger for his traumatic episodes, which he guessed, on a psychological standpoint, to be flashbacks. Sonic eventually seemed to snap back to reality when he tried to sit up properly, rubbing his temples with two fingers. "You alright?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm alright…" He seemed oblivious to what had happened. Both Giovanni and Mario guessed Sonic was not fully aware of the episodes.

"You sure?" He got a nod. "Alright. Good."

"Look…I take back my earlier comment Sonic. I'm sorry. I also shouldn't have attacked you like that…" MH meekly apologized, which was a rarity for him. Never did MH admit to being in the wrong. Sonic shrugged.

"Eh, it's cool. Used to it."

"How can you be used to it? What actually happened to you?" Mario gently pushed. He needed to know. Sonic looked away as he started to once again shake.

"I…I don't like talking about it." His voice was only a frightened whisper.

"I get that, honest I do, but talking will help." Giovanni explained.

"I said, I don't like talking about it." Sonic's voice was louder this time, and sounded highly irritated.

"Why? What are you afraid of?" MH asked, but when he didn't get an answer, he decided to start being a jackass again. "A child unable to take the world…I've seen this before. Stupid, weak, pathetic child." Sonic gritted his teeth as…that feeling came back. This guy was really getting on his nerves. He also got an urge to do a specific thing, but he had no access to that here. He just had to do it later. "If there is one thing I hate it's a liar. Lying little brat, aren't you?" His fists clenched. He felt rage, both at MH and himself, brew in his soul, but he had to suppress it.

"I should have chucked you out when we met."

Suppress it…

"Welp, can't be helped. Mortals like yourself are pushovers. Especially Mobians, they're not even human."

Suppress…it…

"Monsters, the lot of them."

He couldn't suppress it anymore.

"Come on boy, speak your mind. What are you so afraid of?!"

That was it.

"I WAS TORTURED, ALRIGHT!?"

Silence. Three pairs of shocked and horrified pairs of eyes looked at him but he didn't stop. He had now cut loose and he found himself unable to stop talking.

"I was captured 5 years ago and was kept as a slave by a man called Infinite. He kept me in a dingy small cell and continuingly tortured me until he died 3 weeks ago and I was rescued by a Mobian Liberation group. I tried living a normal life but I couldn't! I can't be touched, I can't trust, I can't be hugged, I can't be loved! I decided to head to the mountains away from everyone and everything to die alone. I was purposefully in that blizzard. I wanted to DIE, alright!? That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of myself!" He broke down in broken sobs, curling into a terrified ball.

Everyone's reactions were different.

MH felt guilt well up in him. He had expected a reply at some point, but after hearing that, he felt incredibly guilty about ganging up on such a young, broken soul.

Giovanni was horrified. He had heard of the Mobian Slave Trade and not many came back alive to tell the tale. He felt incredibly sorry for Sonic.

Mario was somewhat sympathetic, but at the same time, his heart ached as he couldn't imagine the agony Sonic had to endure. He knew the feeling of wanting to die. He felt it every day.

"I…I know that feeling."

Sonic looked at Mario hard.

"What feeling?"

"The feeling that life is pointless. That things are better off if you weren't there. The feeling that you want to end your life. Believe me, I've toyed with the idea on millions of occasions."

This was news to Sonic. Mario came across as someone who was very happy, maybe a little overwhelmed when MH was in the room but nevertheless, he was not expecting to hear that. Suspicion washed over him.

"You're just sayin' that." His voice was a mumble.

"Oh, really? I've been out of Smash Wars X for 3 years now and…"

"Smash Wars X?" Sonic asked, confused. "What's that?"

"You've…never heard of it? It's one of the most popular TV spectacles of the century!" MH gloated. "It's grown from a mere indie title to a massive global hit! It's famous in every single country!"

"…Well…I sure have never heard of it." It was clear as night that he despised MH. For MH, that was fine, as the feeling was mutual.

"Makes sense." Mario nodded. It made a lot of sense. Smash Wars wasn't big until 5 years ago, so the show's initial run and Sonic's confinement must have started around the same time. Smash Wars X had been around centuries, seeing as MH was a God, switching from channel to channel, using staying on small game-show channel Token TV. 5 years ago, Smash Wars X was picked up for a trial run with Channel Global, the biggest and most-watched TV network on the planet, and has become a staple ever since as it quickly caught on and became majorly popular with both children and adults, both boys and girls. He realized he got side-tracked. "Smash Wars X is a popular fighting TV gameshow. There are teams made out of a Controller, such as myself, and a Limiter who is usually mortal like yourself. There is also a ranking system. The team who gets the most points after fighting all other teams once becomes the "S Rank" team. The other members in the top 10 are "A Rank". From there, you got "B-Rank", "C-Rank", "D-Rank", "E-Rank", "F-Rank" and a "G-Rank". The top 5 teams at the end get a Amulet that grants one wish, while the S-Rank team get the Trophy Amulet that grants 3 wishes of their liking…within reason of course otherwise they could get an unfair advantage or whatever…you get the idea."

"OK…sounds overly complicated for a gameshow but OK. What rank are you?"

"Um…G-Rank. I don't have a limiter, so I'm cast aside and permanently at the bottom."

"He's been like that for 3 years." MH taunted. "No good comes from G-Ranks like yourself, freak."

"The reason I know how you feel is because, basically, everyone hates my guts." Mario continued, ignoring MH's comment. "They mock me for being a Limitless and, mainly, a fire freak. I could bare it at first. I just laughed it off. Over time, the mocking became bullying…and the bullying became physical and verbal abuse. It seems to get worse every day. Some days, the idea of suicide never comes to mind, but others it's constantly there in my brain."

"It's not as bad as what you've been through but…"

"In a way, I guess you've been tortured too." Mario blinked at Sonic's comment. "You're right. It's different than the hell I've been dragged through, but in a way you've been tortured too."

"Never thought of it like that." He mused, sitting next to the boy. "…I guess we've both had our fair share of dark times, huh?"

"Suppose so…" Came a quiet reply. Sonic side-looked at the vampire that was RIGHT next to him, but was surprised by a genuine smile that crossed Mario's face. MH then cleared his throat to get their attention.

"I'll tell you what, you two. I'll cut you a deal."

"What deal?" Mario suspiciously asked. MH smirked.

"I shall allow Sonic to stay in the Mansion…"

"Y-You serious?" Sonic exclaimed, sitting up in amazement. MH gave him an "I'm-not-finished" look and he slumped, mumbling an apology.

"However, if I do allow this, it will have to be under two conditions."

"…And what are they?"

"Condition 1: you have to become Mario's limiter for this year's tournament."

"Are you crazy!?" Mario screamed. "After what he's been through, I doubt he can endure more violence and what's more…!"

"It's fine, Mario." Sonic calmly accepted, instantly shutting Mario up. "And the 2nd condition?"

"If you two don't get into the top 5…I don't just end Mario's life like I was going to anyway…but yours as well."

"And there are no ways to easing these conditions?"

"No. It's a simple choice, kid." He had his hand extended for a handshake.

"Sonic, I don't you to have all that pressure on your shoulders. I can just sit out again, honest."

"No, I can't allow that." Mario just stared at him. "You told me yourself. This place is hell for you. I've gone through much worse, so I'm not scared at all." He stood and clasped MH's hand, shaking it in grim determination. "It's a deal."

"I'm Master Hand, by the way. I forgot to tell you my name."

"Master Hand then. It's a pleasure." MH nodded and left the room.

"Y-You didn't need to agree to his terms." Mario shuddered, still a little confused.

"I don't give a damn about my life, Mario. I don't care if I lived or died…but for you it's different. You have a chance at redemption, to get your life back on track."

"So do you. Trauma can heal y'know…and I'll help you through it. We're a team now." Mario smiled. "We may have both been through hell and back, but we can help each other. I mean, we can be friends."

"…Friends…?" He said the word like it was some other language but, looking at how genuine Mario was being, he couldn't help a smile of his own cross his face. "…I…I think I would like that."


	2. Bridges to Friendship

"I hate to admit it…but this place is quite cool."

"I told you it's amazing. MH built it himself. Being the manager of a massive TV gem brings in a LOT of money."

Sonic expected that. The Mansion was huge, decorated in gold and scarlet décor with high ceilings with diamond chandeliers hanging down. There were quite a few floors: 6 at least but he couldn't see that high. Looking too high make his neck burn. Mario noticed he was in pain.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just my neck." He rubbed it but tried to ignore the pain. Mario took this into account and decided to say nothing more on the subject. "So…where are we stayin'?"

"Room 31. It's on the 3rd floor." They came to an elevator. "I'm guessing lifts are going to make you claustrophobic."

"…Heh, you got it in one. You can if you want. I'll take the stairs."

"We're going together. We're a team." Mario insisted, starting to climb the stairs that started just a few metres from the lift. They weren't too steep but as they passed the 2nd floor, Sonic stopped, a choked gasp escaping him as he lurched, white in the face. He was leaning against the wall with one hand. Mario turned and quickly headed back down when he saw the state his team-mate was currently in. It greatly worried him. "You alright!?"

"…I-I don't…I don't know…" He sounded scared.

"Sit down, that might help." Mario suggested, with Sonic nodding and sat with some assistance. He did look faint. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No…j-just my head…everything just…I don't know…just s-span." He was slurring slightly.

"We're taking things too fast. We'll stop until you're alright." He sat next to him.

"Well, well, lookie here Leon." Mario flinched and looked up. Above him was a muscular male with grey hair and purple eyes, though one was covered by a metallic silver and cyan eyepatch. He had ears too and some grey fuzz was across his cheeks. He also had a long bushy wolf tail with a thick white tip. He had a similar man with them, lean in build with scales across his cheeks and forehead and a curly green scaly tail. "If it isn't our old pal, the Limitless Mario."

"Get lost, Star Wolf." Mario sneered. "I'm not in the mood."

"Not in the mood, eh?" The first man laughed and Leon joined in, though his laugh sounded pretty much insane. "You don't order me around." He then noticed Sonic. "Who is this?" He sniffed. "My, what an unusual scent you have, boy. Alluring and yet…I don't know…mysterious at the same time. What's your name?"

"…"

"Aw, come on. I ain't gonna bite."

"…"

"His name's Sonic." Mario informed his enemy. "He's my limiter."

"Oh, you actually found a partner? Impressive."

"Oh, please, Wolf. I can smell your two-faced attitude from here."

"Heh-heh…can't wait to, you-know, fight ya! Heh-heh, can't wait, can't wait!" Leon chuckled madly to himself.

"Leon, what did I say earlier? Button it." Wolf scolded, getting a nervous giggle.

"Heh-heh, sorry Boss."

"You will be sorry." He turned back to Mario. "Guess you ain't a Limitless anymore. Can't wait to beat you and your new partner in front of millions. See you later, Mario, Rookie." He stalked away, grabbing Leon by the tail and pulling him away. Mario turned back to Sonic.

"Sorry about him. He's a little…" He trailed off. Something was off about his partner's eyes; they looked blank. "…Sonic? You alright?" Without warning, his friend flopped, his body falling onto his own as he lost consciousness. Panic quickly filled Mario. He tried shaking Sonic awake but that didn't get anything apart from a barely-audible groan. "S-Sonic…? Can you hear me!? What's wrong!?" He got no reply. Mario's panic quickly turned to dread.

"Mario!?"

Mario turned. A brunette girl dressed in an orange dress was running towards him or was trying to due to high heels. He recognised her as Daisy, the partner of his younger brother, Luigi.

"Daisy…"

"I-Is he OK?"

"I…I don't know…he won't wake up." Daisy pressed a hand on Sonic's cheek and the skin glowed a faint topaz. Mario knew this move as Aromatherapy, which could instantly tell her what was wrong with a person, be him vampire or mortal. She sighed after a few seconds, a small relieved smile crossing her face.

"He'll be OK. He's just exhausted. Passed out. He'll probably come around in a bit."

"At least he's alright. Thanks Daisy, I'll take it from here." He picked Sonic up and headed upstairs. Daisy nodded.

"See you later, Mario."

"Yeah…you too."

XO

Room 31 was very spacious and most of the other people around him also belonged to a place in the rankings similar to Mario (it was C-Ranks and above who belittled him, D-Ranks and below were more-or-less on the fence or bystanders about the whole thing, though there were a few exceptions). The room had two single beds, an en-suite, two separate wardrobes and a massive window. The view was blocked by the blizzard but, usually, it gave a brilliant scene of the Mansion Back Grounds, which were really expansive. Mario gently lay Sonic on one of the beds and tossed the duvet over him, gently ruffling his hair in a friendly manner. He got a groan but nothing else. He saw his bag was already there. He decided to pass some time by unpacking his stuff. A knock came at the door when he was almost done. Standing there was a Primid, a purple emotionless creature mass-created by Master Hand as staff, though few actually had personalities, voices or any emotion, let alone a brain of their own. He handed Mario a piece of paper before waddling off. He looked at the leaflet.

 **New Tournament Rules**

 **A couple of amendments have been made to the rules of Smash Wars X. Like the others, these must be strictly adhered to at all times.**

 **A: Teams will fight other teams now twice (similar to home and away games in baseball)**

 **B: Healing items have now been included in the game, alongside some new power-ups. Each team can heal only once per fight.**

 **C: Members can now "stop" the fight at any time for two important reasons: serious injury or suspicion of foul play. If the fight is cancelled, it will be rescheduled.**

 **Any breakages or misusage, of these rules will result in punishment, suspension, point changes and/or disqualification/expulsion from the network. These include "illegal" fights.**

 **Thank you.**

Mario groaned and went inside. Each tournament went with a few minor rule changes to keep things interesting but these were BIG changes. He slammed the sheet onto a desk and pulled out a ruby book, his diary. Turning on a lamp on but making sure the light didn't directly land on Sonic's sleeping figure, picked up a pen and began writing.

 _January 4_ _th_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today has been an interesting day, to say the least. Whilst collecting firewood in Darkwood Forest, I've met a boy called Sonic. Now, I've written my hell in this book before but he's gone through worse stuff I have. He hasn't explained to me in great detail, only that he's gone through 5 years of torture. MH blackmailed him into becoming my limiter, which I guess means I'm back in the tournament. I'm still working out the triggers to his "flashback episodes" so to speak. It's so he has an easier time. I know I can't touch him yet and that yelling and direct negative remarks scare him. There may by other things._

 _Onto the new tournament…I'm excited to see what happens. With my pyrokinesis and Sonic's aerokinesis, we're going to make one rocking team! I'll have to teach him the ropes but only fate can decide whether I'm gonna see another Christmas._

 _I have to write this down or I'll forget. Something that Sonic said…about wanting to die. There is a possibility he might try to…kill himself. I cannot let that happen. He's my friend and team-mate. I don't care if I win or lose at this point. I just want to have a great new time with my new Limiter._

Nodding, Mario closed the book, locked it up, turned off the lamp and looked at the time on his electronic clock, its digits glowing a scarlet red, casting part of the room with a very faint crimson shine. It was past 10 at night.

"Yikes, it's getting late." He yawned and slipped into red striped pyjamas. He dove under the covers but looked over at Sonic, who hadn't stirred at all. Silently chuckling, he rolled onto his side to get to sleep. "Sweet dreams, Sonic."

XO

Mario woke at the sound of a scream, making him jolt awake and almost fall out of bed. He knew who the scream originated from, and he was greeted by a shaking Sonic, back to him. He was in one of his balls, fruitlessly kicking the sheets off him. Alarmed, Mario jumped up and tried to soothe him the way Giovanni had done earlier that night. He wasn't as skilled, but it seemed to do the trick.

"…You with me, Sonic?" Mario asked worriedly, perching on the edge of the bed. After a few tense, shaky moments, Sonic nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Was it a nightmare?" Another nod and Mario could now faintly see Sonic's form and features, especially the frightful gleam in his green irises. Mario switched on the lamp on its dimmest lighting and reached to hug him but stopped. "Can I…stroke your shoulder?" Sonic looked at Mario weirdly but slowly nodded.

"G-Gently."

Nodding back, Mario placed his hand slowly and softly on his friend's shoulder, moving it around in a comforting manner. Sonic badly flinched but he didn't scream. Sure, he feared contact but he knew deep down Mario wouldn't hurt him.

"Do you…want to talk about it?"

"What?"

"The nightmare. Please tell me."

Sonic was silent for a moment. "Is that an order?"

"…Order?" Mario blinked, retracting his hand.

"I said, is that an order?"

"I didn't give an order."

"Yes, you did. I have to follow your orders, Master." Mario realized he was half in the past, half in the present and, against his better judgment, he shook Sonic badly, making him blink a couple of times like he had been in a trance. "Ow, my head."

"You alright? That was a little…weird…" His voice was high in worry.

"What was?"

"You were going on about…orders."

"I…I was…?" Sonic really did look perplexed, so Mario figured he was right about him not being self-aware about his blackouts. "Odd…"

"Are you not aware of these…shall I say…blackouts?"

"Yeah, I blackout sometimes but I never know why…"

 _So he's aware of the actual blackouts but he doesn't remember of what happens during them…almost like a split-personality…_

"This…Infinite guy you briefly told me about…did he order you around a lot?"

It was a touchy subject, but he had to know. Luckily, Sonic's only reaction to the name was a harsh shrill whimper but he didn't refuse to answer the question.

"Quite often. He forced me to do things I wouldn't usually do. It was sometimes painful, sometimes humiliating but he always made sure I completed a task no matter how big or how seemingly impossible. For the first year of my slavery-contract, which lasts until you're 18, Infinite was never abusive…not even cruel. He treated me…me with kindness. Almost…like an equal. After 13 months, he suffered a bad nervous breakdown and almost went insane…and that's when he…he started…" He couldn't say anymore.

"…So…you weren't expecting all this…"

"No, I wasn't. The first time he hit me, he apologised…but then it got more and more frequent. I stopped being his servant and became his prisoner."

"I…I hate to ask this…really I do…but these episodes might have triggers."

"Triggers?"

"A small thing that makes you "blackout". If I know what Infinite did to you, just small little things, it might help me and others avoid certain interactions or happenings."

To say Sonic was caught off-guard was an understatement and yet, he felt like he owed it to Mario. This is the guy who saved his life. He owed him a full explanation, painful as it was to recount.

"Alright. I will tell you."

"I'm all ears. There's no rush. Just take your time."

"Alright…let's see…where to start…? First off, the most common thing he did was hit me. It was the "regular" punishment."

"Alright, so that's the main reason you're sensitive to touch."

"There are other reasons. He didn't just hit me. He used to stab at me too, sometimes repetitively. He also…um…used other objects to hurt me."

"That explains the scars."

"Can you stop commenting?"

"S-Sorry…go on."

"He used to go beyond normal means to hurt me. Sometimes it felt like he was trying to kill me. He's tried to drown, strangle, burn, suffocate, scald and electrocute me. One time, when he was out of town for a few days due to some "job" he had to do, I had had enough. There was always some rope in my little cell. At first, I used it to create a mechanism for breaking down the door, but that failed. I almost lost my mind. I tried to hang myself but Mason stopped me. He's Infinite's son. 3 years younger than me but sadistic in every way. I was subjected to 2 new type of tortures after that. The first, I think, was sexual. I'm not really sure what he actually did, but I know it was bad…and involved tying me up by my wrists and ankles. The second was experimental. He locked me in a small glass box, only small enough for a toddler and used my body to test new drugs or poisons, but he always had an antidote on hand so I didn't die…though I wish he did." He saw Mario's face was white, his mouth cupped in horror. "…I dreamt Mason had found me…and he was stabbing at me over and over…blaming me for his father's death, which I had nothing to do with." Just saying that made him break down. "…I…I-I-I-I just wanna…I just wanna die Mar…" He curled once again into a ball but so his face was on the bed, his tears spilling onto the duvet. What he didn't see was that Mario was now crying as well. He hadn't imagine it to be so bad. Well, he knew it was bad but that? Sounded like hell but magnified by 100. He sniffed and wrapped Sonic up in his own duvet.

"Y-You shouldn't be allowed to suffer alone, y'know. Something Giovanni told me once was that when things are at their lowest and at their worst, the only direction you can go is up."

"U-Up…?"

"Basically, things can only get better from here. I'm here for you, Sonic, no matter what. I can't make the pain disappear all in one night…but we can make a start. You telling me all this is a very big step to recovery and it was very brave."

"Y-You're crying…" He noted, but that only set him off more. "…I-I made someone suffer again…"

"No, no, you didn't!"

"It's all my fault…it's all my fault…"

"Sonic, listen to me. I'm fine, see? It's not your fault. Please, calm down for me, alright?" He started rubbing Sonic's back very lightly, knowing that hedgehogs like their quills stroked and this was the equivalent. Surprisingly, it worked. Sonic seemed to calm down as he furiously wiped his tears away and much to Mario's amazement, leapt up and hugged him hard. Mario returned it but kept his arms around his limiter's waist and not around his neck.

"…Thank you, Mar."

"…No problem, Sonic."

XO

 _~ January 5_ _th_

The next morning, the two headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. As Mario reached for the door handle, he noticed Sonic inching away, somewhat paranoid.

"You OK?" He got a shake of the head. "It's alright. I won't let them hurt you."

"…S-Sorry…I have really bad social anxiety…entering a room with a few strangers is scary enough but 50 teams of 2? That's 100 people. No way am I going in there!"

"There's more than 200 tables. We'll sit away from everyone else. I'll get the food and you stay out of everyone's line of sight, alright? If anyone talks to you, ignore them."

"…Alright." Mario opened the door and inspected the room. It wasn't too busy yet. He gestured to Sonic and they inched themselves to a back table, and no-one seemed to notice.

"I'll get us something to eat. What do you fancy?"

"…What do they have?"

"Anything and everything."

"Wow…OK…but I'm not very hungry so just some toast for me, thanks."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes. Remember what I told you." He went off, leaving Sonic alone with both his nervous disposition and a whole room of vampires who would soon notice his unfamiliar scent. Sure enough, it only took a few minutes for someone to notice him.

"Hiya." He ignored them. "Hey, come on. It's rare seeing someone of my kind."

That got his attention. Standing near to him was a brown-haired male, around 22 years of age, with fox ears and tail and white and white fuzz on his face. He had bright blue eyes. He wore a pilot's jacket, dark jeans, a red scarf, black boots and dark metallic boots. Behind him was a female. She had indigo hair in a neatly-styled bob and also had fox ears and a tail, banded with golden bangles. She wore a purple and black bodysuit, a black jacket and long violet boots.

"You're new, aren't you?" The girl asked. "Thought you looked unfamiliar."

He still ignored them.

"Hey, Fox, Krystal, give him space, will you?" It was Mario, returning with two trays of food.

"We weren't doing anything bad." Fox, the male, protested, hands up in defense. Mario looked at Sonic.

"Want me to get rid of them?"

"No…it's fine. They can sit with us."

"Cool, thanks mate." Fox playfully nudged Sonic's shoulder but shook when he whined. "D-Did that hurt?"

"No, he's got haphephobia." Mario remembered the term Giovanni had diagnosed Sonic with earlier the previous night, long after the terms of his stay had been finalized.

"What's that?"

"Fear of being touched." Krystal, the vixen, pondered. "I've heard of the term."

"O-Oh…I didn't realize. Sorry." Fox apologized. Sonic nodded at this.

"It's fine. It's a very common mistake. Not many people seem to get it first time."

"Do you…have a name?" Krystal asked.

"Sonic."

"Nice name. I'm Krystal and this is my Controller, Fox McCloud."

"Cool. Mario, did you see the damn rule changes last night?! What were they thinkin'!?"

"Hey, Fox! Don't get too close to that pyro freak or he'll burn your tail off!" Came a jeer from a man in a green tunic and cap, jeering. His partner, a young 8 year old with very long cyan hair, faint silver wings, blue glowing eyes and a faint aqua aura glared at him.

"Oh, shut up, will you, Link! Leave him alone!" Fox yelled back. He saw Sonic was uncomfortable. "Am I being too loud?"

"N-No…it's fine."

"You're not fine, Sonic." Krystal argued. "I can feel you're distressed. I'm telepathic and I can feel others' emotions."

"…I don't like shouting…or arguments…or…or…" He was close to breaking down. Mario noticed this and shushed him.

"It's alright. I've got you."

"T-Thanks…"

"Krystal, you alright?" Fox had noticed his partner had a blank look.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh! It's you!" Sonic looked up to see Daisy (who he didn't recognise).

"Do we…know each other…?"

"Oh, this is Daisy." Mario introduced. "She helped me after you passed out last night. She's Luigi's partner. Luigi is my younger brother."

"Oh, I see. It's nice to meet you, Daisy."

"Likewise."

"DAISY!" Daisy cringed when a tall male in overalls and a green t-shirt and cap (in contrast to Mario's red) ran up, angry. Sonic guessed this was Luigi. "I told you not to wander off!"

"Oh, sorry…" Daisy apologized. Luigi face-palmed. "What am I gonna do with you?" He got a shrug. He noticed his brother and Sonic. "Oh…this must be your new partner that Daisy was telling me about."

"Yeah, he is. This is Sonic."

"Nice to meetcha, Sonic. I'm Luigi…but many people called me Weegie for short."

"Weegie…? I'll…I'll stick with Luigi."

"That's cool, I guess. We'll leave you guys be. Come on, Daisy."

"Coming, Luigi." Daisy bounded over to him. Mario groaned.

"He's always so brief…"

"Can't say I blame him. You remember what happened 4 years ago." Krystal mused, getting a nod.

"Yeah, I know but still…" He noticed Sonic was finished. "Want to go?" He got a faint nod. Mario stood. "We'll see you guys later."

"Yeah, have fun."

XO

"You doing alright?"

"…"

Mario felt a nagging feeling in his stomach. Sonic hadn't spoken a word since they had left the breakfast room. They had been in their room for 20 minutes now, and his silence was starting to really freak Mario out.

"Hey, come on Sonic. Talk to me." He tried peering at his friend's face but the Mobian snapped his head away. He stood and went into the bathroom, locking the door. Mario waited a few minutes but he didn't come out. He heard crying. "Sonic? What's wrong?"

"…"

Mario felt himself biting his lip, which hurt due to his vampire fangs. He decided to let Sonic have some alone time when a smell hit his nose.

Blood.

Mario knocked. Nothing. He placed an ear against the door. He heard pants of breath as well as the occasional hiss of pain. That nagging feeling got stronger. A lot stronger. He knew how to pick the lock from the outside and easily got in, freezing the moment Sonic came into view. He was sitting on the floor, cross-legged with his back against the bath, blood streaming from several cuts to his wrists. He had a scarlet-tipped razor in his hand and he didn't seem done as Mario witnessed him slice another wound open. Mario ran forward, forced the razor out of Sonic's hand and bundled him into his arms. All this had taken Sonic by surprise. He didn't bother wiggling Mario off him. Mario let go and assessed the cuts. Luckily, they weren't too deep nor fatal, but they were pretty bad. He ripped a towel into strips and binded his friend's wrists. Now the silence made a lot more sense.

 _I was right…he's still suicidal…_

"…H-How did you…?"

"I'm a vampire. I can smell blood." Mario explained. When Sonic thought about it hard, it made sense. Vampires fed off blood. It made sense why he knew he was cutting himself. He broke down in tears. Mario wiped them away. "It's alright, I'm not mad. I do it too." He rolled up his sleeve and Sonic saw a few dozen scars on both wrists, some relatively recent. "It's like an urge, isn't it? An addiction." He sat next to Sonic while keeping pressure on the makeshift bandage.

"…It does help the pain, I guess…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You've got more things to worry about than my misery."

"You are always my top priority. Friends come before self." He got a weird look. "You would always come before me. You're my friend."

"Stop saying that!" Came a screech. This took Mario a bit aback.

"Stop saying what?"

"That we're friends. We're not! Team-mates sure, but I have zero interest in a friendship. Friends only turn on you, use you and they leave you when it suits them."

"Not real friends. Real friends are always there for you."

"Yeah, right. They let you down when it counts. They hurt you, just like everyone else. Infinite did teach me one lesson."

"And that is?"

"Friendship…is only an illusion. Concentrate on yourself and you're OK. Friendship makes you weak. If you have friends, they drag you down. Going solo is the best way to go."

Mario felt his entire body sag. The view was so…backwards. Malicious. If anyone else had said that, Mario would have punched them in the gut but this was Sonic and chances are, he was badly disillusioned.

"That's not true and you know it." He got a scoff. "Think about it this way. Imagine you've been in a fight and are hurt. Which would you rather face: death or assistance from someone who can fight at your side?"

"At this moment in time? I'd rather die than make a backstabbing pal."

Mario could feel his brain giving up on Sonic but he refused to let himself be deterred by his friend's way of thinking.

"But…what you said last night…you said you wanted a friend."

"I thought I did…but then you had to be so…so pushy."

So there was a reason.

"Explain to me. Define "pushy"."

"Everything. You persuade me into things I DON'T want to do. I didn't want to tell you everything about my imprisonment, I didn't want to go into a room full of vampires and I didn't want Fox and Krystal to sit with us. I only did it so YOU were happy. Did you say thank you? No, you didn't. As long as you get your own way…"

Mario was speechless. Sure, he had persuaded Sonic to do those things but…

"…I never meant anything malicious by that…I didn't even realize I was being like that…I was just trying to…"

"To what, Mario? Bamboozle me? Trick me? USE me!?" He was shouting now. "You're just like the rest of them!"

Sonic's rage immediately dissipated when Mario started crying.

"…I-I wasn't trying to do that…honest…I was trying to help…I thought if you told me all that stuff, it would ease the nightmares and your trauma. I thought entering the room would help your social anxiety, and we barely interacted with everyone. Fox and Krystal are very kind people and I thought, because they're like you…I thought it would put you a bit more at ease…but you're right. I was just being pushy and selfish."

Guilt. That's what Sonic felt as he silently watched Mario weep. Mario had it the wrong way around. Mario wasn't the one who was selfish. HE was. He noticed the razor lying on the floor and he nudged it towards him. Mario didn't notice.

 _I screwed it all up…my one chance at redemption and I blew it. He's better off without a dead weight on his hands. He hates me. Everyone hates me. I hate myself. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,_ _ **hate!**_

He turned the razor upwards so it aimed directly for the arteries in his throat. He knew Mario no longer cared for a selfish child as himself. He was beyond help. He just threw it all back in someone's face. He was beyond being repaired, he was past the point where intervention could stop his downwards spiral. He aimed and took in a last deep breath, ready for the agony that would come from the stab.

"DON'T!"

Sonic found himself, in the middle of his swing, being knocked to the ground, pain radiating from his back and hip. He saw the razor clatter to the floor, no new blood dripping from the edge.

… _What?_

He looked over. Mario was on him, looking at him with desperation. Did Mario…the person he was 100% sure now hated his guts…just save him?

"…W-Why?"

"I told you…I'm not going to let you kill yourself." He brought Sonic back into a sitting position, seeing, luckily for him, no new wound. "Phew, you didn't leave a wound. Good."

"…I don't get it. After what I said…I thought you…"

"Hated you?" Mario filled in the gap. "I wouldn't be able to do that. Sure, I lost it for a minute there but it's OK."

"You said you were the one who was selfish. You're wrong. I was. Sprouting all that crap. I don't even know why I SAID it in the first place. I just don't see why you dedicate time to try and fix me because I'm BEYOND that now. I can't be fixed..." He broke down into tears.

"Yes, you can." Mario patted his shoulder as well as wiping away his tears. "Hey…that's the first time that I've touched you without you flinching."

"It…it is…?" He noted this to himself. It's true. No goosebumps, no traumatic flashback, no shiver and definitely no flinching. Strange.

"I guess that means you're slightly improving…and I'll try not to be pushy again."

"You weren't…you were right…you were just trying to help me…"

"What made you change your mind?"

"You crying…I couldn't stand it." Mario could see how close Sonic was to another meltdown. When he did, screamed sobs escaping his mouth, Mario did the same thing he did last night; he stroked his back, which seemed to do the job.

"We're going to get through this together, alright? Trust takes time. We don't have to be absolute friends…we're just team-mates. You'll soon see they're one and the same."

"I-I don't even know HOW to be friends with someone…" Sonic admitted, still in tears but at least the emotional spike was over. Mario chuckled.

"It's not hard. The three things you need to know are these: kindness, empathy and dedication. Be kind to a person, imagine what it's like to be them in difficult situations (and act accordingly) and always be there for them when they need you. That's all you really need to know." Sonic mentally noted these down. Mario helped him to his feet and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm going to help you no matter what it takes…and then we'll rock this tournament and get our 3 wishes."

"It's not easy, though, is it?"

"No…standing between us are 50 teams all with the same idea but we've got one thing that they do not."

"And that is?"

"Beginner's luck."

"Oh, ha-ha!" He chuckled then. "More like beginner's spirit."

"That too. We better get you down to Giovanni to get those cuts sorted out." Sonic had forgotten about his wounds and gulped.

"He's gonna have my head…"

"He won't, promise. We'll make something up. I just hope he's dumb for once." He then got serious and took Sonic by the shoulders. "Just promise me one thing. If you get that urge again, of either kind, you tell me, alright? It's something you just can't deal with alone." He realized he was being pushy again. "…Sorry…there I go again…"

"No, it's…it's OK…and I promise."

Nodding, Mario opened the door and they headed down the staircase. Sonic looked hard at the red-capped man. He still wasn't sure if friends were good…but he could at least try. It was way better than letting his depression consume him. That much was for sure.


	3. Training

_~ January 11_ _th_

Mario literally had to dive to prevent the Sandbag from colliding with him.

"Whoa!" He managed to dodge but landed awkwardly on his side.

"You alright?" Sonic called, alarmed as he deactivated his aerokinesis.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nice shot by the way. Those powers of yours are really cool!"

"…Well…I wouldn't go that far."

"I'm being serious." Mario stood and dusted himself off as the training simulator made another Sandbag appear. "I think now is a good time to see what your Final Smash is."

"A Final what?"

"A Final Smash. Sometimes, in battle, MH will release a rainbow ball in the air. Open it and you get filled with this awesome power that magnifies your abilities. You can run faster, jump higher, you recover some health…plus you are able to use that power to unleash your most powerful move. It's called a Final Smash."

"…OK…and are they all unique?"

"There are a few replicas. Falco, Fox and Wolf use a similar move called Landmaster. Link, Young Link and Toon Link use the Triforce. Peach and Daisy's are similar too."

"Alright…can I see yours?" He leaned against the wall, smug. Mario nodded and made a Smash Ball appear by typing a program into the simulator's PC. He punched it a few times and it opened, consuming Mario in a golden light. His eyes also glowed gold. His hands glowed scarlet as he unleashed a storm of fire that continued for several metres. As it finished, the glow dissipated. "That was my Fire Finale. After using your Final Smash, you lose the power. You have to time your attack wisely, especially if it involves standing in one place like mine. For others, like Yoshi, it's a transformation that last a certain length of time. You try." He made another ball appear. Cautiously, Sonic attacked it and it burst open. He wasn't expecting the sheer amount of power that came in that package. It felt extremely weird. Mario nodded. "Concentrate all that power into an attack. Just imagine firing all that power into the Sandbag." Nodding, he did so, only for his feet to levitate off the ground. That in itself made him badly panic. "Try and keep calm. It's alright. If anything happens, I'll deactivate the system." Nodding a second time, Sonic tried to focus himself and let all the power go. He expected a whirlwind or something but he felt a tingly feeling come all across his body. He saw Mario's jaw had dropped.

"What…?"

"Sonic…you're…you're glowing gold…" Mario stuttered. Sonic realized what he meant. The metallic walls faintly showed his reflection. His hair was a shiny gold and was on end and the same went with his clothes, they were also golden. A yellow fiery aura enveloped him.

"Whoa-oh! Cool!"

"Just…be careful…I wasn't expecting a transformation like this."

"I wasn't either but who cares?! I'm freakin' flyin'!" Mario couldn't help but smile. Despite him being high, it seemed Sonic was more excited than scared. Sonic flicked his hand, only for a medium-sized golden whirl-wind to shoot out and destroy the Sandbag into fabric. "Those other teams better be ready for this baby!"

"Someone's getting cocky…"

"Hey, have you flown before?"

"Uh…I have actually…back when I was mortal, I had a Power-Up called the Wing Cap. I know about flying…and it's not easy to do."

"How hard can it be?" He zoomed around the room, whooping to himself. He eventually realized something. He was going…VERY fast…and he was heading to a pile of crates. Bad news was…he didn't know how to stop. All he heard was the crash of the collision and the pain that came with it. At least it cancelled out the transformation. Everything hurt, especially his head. All he saw was darkness for a few moments until light blinded him and he saw a worried Mario running over. He just heard a ringing in his ears as his vision violently span and a nauseous feeling crept into his stomach. Mario was over him, but his voice was muted. He tried to listen but got nothing.

All he heard was buzzing.

"…Sonic!?"

Hearing was suddenly back to normal it seemed. He felt Mario assess him and he even hugged him. Both things made him flinch, despite him having not flinched at Mario's touch for a few days now. Only a week left until the tournament started. This wasn't a good start.

"…A-Are you alright!?"

"Y-Yeah…I'm alright, Mar. Just a little dizzy." He tried moving but he couldn't. Mario realized this and helped him sit up.

"For a first time, it wasn't bad. Just that speed…you must have been going just over 100 miles per hour! Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No…I think I just hit my head." He rubbed it. Mario peered at it.

"Hmmm…seems alright. No bump or bruising…but MH isn't gonna be happy when he sees his destroyed props."

"We'll explain it to him."

"Um…are we entering at a bad time?"

Mario looked up. Looking over in a worried manner was a young boy, looking only 14 odd, with tousled bronze hair and wore a Greek-style white tunic and had angelic wings on his back. He had a blonde girl with him who wore a dark scarlet dress covered in brown vine-like decoration and an ivy-covered staff. She looked smug.

"Um, who are these guys?" Sonic asked.

"Pit and Viridi. They're B-Rank."

"What happened to the kid?" Viridi asked, still smirking.

"Testing out his Final Smash."

"Bit of a crash course, it seems. MH wasn't kidding when he said you were re-entering this year. You're acting like amateurs."

"Lay off, Viridi." Pit ordered.

"Shut up, Pit!"

"I'm your boss here!"

"Yeah, I'm the Goddess. You're just a low angel."

"Hey, can the both of you shut up!?" Mario ordered, noticing Sonic had entered one of his traumatized states, evident by his animalistic whines and that he had his hands over his ears. He cooed and shushed him.

"He's right." Pit concurred. "We went a bit far."

"I've heard of Mobians before. Animal-Humans, if you prefer…though he is different than the Cornelians and the Pocket Creatures…" Viridi thought to herself. "…Yet, he has a certain…unnatural scent to him."

"Who is the vampire here?"

"I'm the Goddess of Nature, Pit. I only answer to you per our contract. Being the Goddess of Nature means I am aware of all scents relating directly or indirectly to anything natural. Mobians are natural enough…but their existence is caused by a man-made virus…the Stigma Virus, which binds a human's DNA with that of the first animal that person comes into contact with. He must be around 10-15% infected…"

"Yeah, I know all this…" Mario complained. Viridi sighed.

"Just trying to be helpful."

"How about trying to be redundant?"

"You. Zip it."

"Now who are the ones who are arguing!?"

More whines. Mario shushed them and escorted Sonic out of the room.

"…I know the signs of trauma when I see them…"

"Viridi?"

"Yes, Pit?"

"You can be quiet now."

XO

It took a full 10 minutes to calm Sonic down and even after that, he was shaking like there was no tomorrow. Despite knowing contact was not the best thing, his friend needed comfort. Mario started slow and wrapped a single arm around Sonic's trembling shoulders and, after no reaction, pulled him in for a small hug. This time, Sonic was aware of what Mario was doing.

"…W-What are you doing?"

"Well, thought I'd try and comfort my team-mate." Sonic took this in. He felt heat hit his cheeks. Man, what was up with him? "You alright? You've gone red."

"Just warm." Sonic ad-libbed, though he knew damn well he was lying. Something was up, but he didn't want Mario to be alarmed. Not to mention his head still ached. How hard did he crash into those crates?

"WHAT IN SUBSPACE'S NAME!?"

"Uh-oh…" Mario gulped. MH's booming voice came from the training room. They peeked inside.

"WHO DESTORYED THE CRATES! I WILL NOT HAVE VANDALS IN MY MANSION!"

Mario decided to take the fall for this one. After all, it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't tried to force Sonic into trying his Final Smash without the experience.

"I…"

"It was me."

Mario whipped around to look at Sonic.

"You?" MH choked. "You better explain, child." Sonic shivered at his tone but nodded and started explaining.

"I was trying out my Final Smash for the first time and I couldn't control it…I crashed…I'm ever so sorry." The group that had assembled after hearing MH's rant could tell how humble Sonic was trying to be. MH was also surprised by the amount of honesty radiating from the boy. He sighed.

"Well…seeing as it was an accident at the end of the day, I shall not punish you…but I want you and your partner to fix this mess."

"Yes, sir."

"All of you, beat it! Back to what you were doing!" He disappeared and the group left, many of them sniggering. Mario looked at Sonic.

"That was very honest."

"Honesty is a very good trait to have. What were you gonna do, take the fall for me?"

"Um…well, yes…"

"No need. I'm the one responsible, not you."

"Yeah but I pushed you into doing it. I have to stop doing that."

"It's alright. It's part of Smash Wars X, so I had to find out sooner or later." He started placing the planks of wood into piles so it would be easier to get rid of. At a guess, at least 14 crates were destroyed.

"…You make a fair point." Clearing up only took half an hour. Afterwards, they stacked the piles of wood in a corner and showed MH their handiwork, who nodded.

"Very well done." He praised. "Both of you, dismissed." The two left without a word.

"I guess he ain't a jackass all of the time." Sonic chuckled. Mario couldn't help but smirk.

"MH may be the boss, but even he has his sincere moments."

"Hey, Limitless!" Mario cringed and looked up to see the green elf boy, who was leaning off the rail from the next floor up, looking smug. Link. Sonic recognised him from the mornings. He was more open towards Fox and Krystal now, and even Luigi and Daisy joined them sometimes. However, Link always had a snide comment to make. "Nice job with the crates! Whattya gonna do now, go destroy more?"

"Go _away_ Link!" Mario moaned. Link wasn't having any of it. He actually jumped down and rolled, jumping straight back up to his feet. He had a silver sword in his hand that looked super deadly. Sonic decided to DEFINITELY sit out of this and backed away, but Link jumped at the chance of ridiculing him.

"Awwww…what's up, little boy?" He sniffed. "Ooh…that's a very nice scent you have there. It's kind of like a field smell. Interesting."

"Hey, that's my partner you're talking to. Manners, please."

"Touchy-touchy! I was only noting something! What is it with G-Ranks and being absolutely useless!?" Mario shuddered at this. Sonic knew that look. A switch had been clicked. "Face it, fire freak, we don't need your kind around here. Go and get lost, already."

"Hey, you can't talk to him like that!"

Link wasn't expecting Sonic to retort. He laughed.

"My, you have a snarky tongue! You better watch your step, _mutant._ "

Inside of the depression he was expecting, intense rage filled Sonic from head to toe.

"I think you've got your nouns mixed up. I'm not a mutant; I wasn't created in a laboratory. I was infected with a virus and left this way. I never wanted to look like this, elf-boy."

"My name is Link."

"That doesn't matter." He snarled and Link backed off, surprised. "Leave me and Mar alone."

"And what are you gonna do? Fight me? You can barely control your Final Smash!"

"I don't need a Power-Up to defeat you."

"I AM an A-Rank Controller, y'know. You stand no chance."

"I may not…but that doesn't mean I can't try."

"Ha, that's a laugh."

"Link!" He turned to see the cyan-haired fairy-like girl again. "That's enough!"

"Shut up, Navi." He snarled but the girl gave him a dark glance. Sonic looked at her up close. She wasn't human, but not a vampire either. Judging by her wings, dress and aura, she was a fairy or pixie of sorts. Link decided to back down but glared at Sonic hard. "Just wait until I make mincemeat of you in the arena, _freak_."

"Looking forward to it, _elf_." Link snorted and left. Navi sighed and shrugged.

"I'm sorry about him, kid. He's a bit…um…dense."

"Yeah, I noticed." He looked around. "Where'd Mar run off too?"

"I think he ran upstairs around the time you were talking about misused nouns."

"Dang it. Thanks…um…"

"Navi."

"Navi. I'm Sonic."

"Pleasure to meet you. I can't wait to see your abilities in the opening ceremony!" She bounded off.

"…Opening ceremony?" The term gave off many possible answers to his question but his main priority was finding Mario. All this time, it was him looking after him…but now it was the other way around. He guessed his partner would be in his bedroom. Sure enough, when he entered, Mario was there, curled up on his bed. By the looks of things, he had been crying. A lot. "…Mar? You doing OK?"

No response.

For some reason, Sonic felt helpless. What was he meant to do!? He wasn't that sure that anything would work but he knew just leaving him be was a bad idea. He sat on Mario's bed and did what Mario did when he was upset: shush him. Surprisingly, it worked. Mario slowly uncurled and furiously tried to wipe the remnants of his meltdown from his face but Sonic stopped him.

"It's alright to cry sometimes, y'know."

"I know…but look at the state I'm in."

"I'm pretty sure I could trump that easily." Mario guessed Sonic practically knew nothing about comfort and was resorting to making him laugh. It was a pretty good remedy as he chuckled slightly.

"You probably could. By the way, sorry I ran off like that."

"It's cool. Hell, I'd do the same thing."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Nah, Navi stepped in to break us up before we got physical."

"His Limiter? Poor Navi. I feel sorry for her, seeing as she has a hothead like Link as a team-mate."

"He is pretty agro."

"Pittoo is worse."

"Who?"

"Pittoo, or Dark Pit…or Kuro. Whichever you prefer. He's Pit's dark twin and his partner is "Amazon" Pandora, Goddess of Calamity who tends to use homing heart missiles and electro ball projectiles."

"…And what rank are they?"

"…A-Rank I think…"

 **ATTENTION ALL CONTENDERS. A FINAL SMASH DEMONSTRATION WILL TAKE PLACE AT 1400 HOURS TOMORROW. ALL TEAMS MUST BE IN ATTENDANCE. NO EXCEPTIONS.**

"…Final Smash Demonstration?"

"Final Smashes have to be approved by Master Hand and they always change slightly. If MH doesn't like it, you can't use it in the actual tourney."

"But…I can't control mine."

"It'll take practice. You're still new to this whole shebang. You'll get the hang of it."

"Don't hold your breath."

"Try and have some self-confidence. If you say to yourself "I can do this", you can't fail miserably easily."

"…I'm guessing that's some optimist thing? 'Cos it's stupid."

"At least try it." He got a look. "Oh, right. Me being pushy. Gotta stop."

"I'm really gonna quit pointing it out. It's part of your personality and that's something I can't change."

"…You alright? You're swaying."

Was he? He concentrated. It was true. His body was self-consciously swaying from side to side faintly. A sudden dizzy spell hit him, making the entire room violently spin until things went black.

When he came to he was on his bed with Mario looking relieved. Much to his surprise, Giovanni was also there, checking him over.

"Oh! You've come to!" He exclaimed, smiling. Everything to Sonic was still blurred and spinning, but at least it was starting to wane.

"U-Ugh…wha…?"

"You should have had that bump to the head examined. I don't know why the symptoms were delayed but…"

"S-Symptoms…?" Sonic looked at Giovanni with a bit of panic. "Why? Is something wrong with me?!" Giovanni chuckled and shook his head.

"Not exactly, but you do have a concussion."

"A what?"

"It's difficult to explain, but the general symptoms involve dizziness, fainting, nausea and a mild headache. It usually occurs after a mild blow to the head."

"Tick, tick, tick and tick."

"I highly recommend you rest until tomorrow, alright? Your head needs to have a breather."

"Alright." As Giovanni left, Sonic chuckled nervously. "Sorry if I scared you, Mar."

"No, it's alright. When Giovanni told me, it made a lot more sense. You did hit that wall and those crates pretty hard, but I'm guessing colliding with the crates greatly slowed you. If you had hit the wall directly…well…let's not think about it. That reminds me, I got you a little something." Sonic was confused when Mario brought out a navy-coloured book. Flicking through it increased his confusion.

"It's blank."

"Precisely. It's a diary." He got a lost look. "A diary is a place to write down personal things, like thoughts, feelings and the day's events. It helps me a lot with what comes at me, and I'm sure it will for you too."

"You have a diary?"

"Sure do. I write in it every night."

"Oh, so that is what you sit at the desk before bed for."

"You got it. Seeing as Giovanni has technically forbidden you to leave the room (I'm saying that in a joke manner by the way), you could write about stuff."

"I can do it one word. Boring."

"Try and use more than one word. It could be both a diary and a journal, which is more for story or novel writing." He noticed Sonic had a confused face. "Something up?"

"I don't know if I'm imagining this but my legs badly tingle."

"Tingle?"

"Yeah, almost vibrating. It's weird."

"Let me have a look." He pulled the covers and examined his legs. Sonic was right. He could see them quivering. "Huh…yeah, you're not imagining it…that's really odd. Does it hurt?"

"No, there's no pain but it's almost like they're restless. They want to do something…something fast." He tried to roll onto his side but as he did so, his feet subconsciously did a kick, but instead of a normal jerk, both feet rapidly twitched with a blue aura surrounding them, freaking him out. "…!?"

"That…was weird. I've never seen a jerk that quick before…" He thought deeply. He remembered how fast Sonic's Final Smash form was…he couldn't have. "…I think I know what happened. Because the transformation was cut short due to that crash, it's possible you've actually absorbed some of the Smash Ball's power into your DNA."

"I-Is that deadly or something?"

"No, it's not…it's completely safe, but the chance of it happening is extremely rare. Only about 4 other people have been known to absorb Smash Energy. It grants them abilities outside the arena based on their strengths and powers and also lets them use a power-up greater than a Final Smash known as an Ascent Mode."

"Who are these 4?"

"Link is one. His Ascent Mode is Dark Link. Lucario's Ascent Mode is known as a Mega Evolution. Peach can ascent mode too and it's all around using a Star Wand and amplifies her healing powers. Finally, Bowser has an Ascent Mode where he changes colour and his abilities increase. He can also combine it with his Final Smash, which is even rarer. Ascent Modes are usually banned…but I wonder if MH will change that rule this year…"

"So…because my abilities and strengths are revolved around wind and speed, what do you think has increased?"

"Power of your aerokinesis, definitely. Judging also by that foot twitch, I think your land speed has increased too. Basically put, super speed. That could be quite useful. Best we don't show anyone it until our exhibition match."

"That reminds me, Navi said something about an Opening Ceremony…"

"Oh, that. It's a celebration of the start of the tournament. Teams go out 1 by 1 to show themselves off to the crowd. The winners go out first and the G-Ranks go last alongside "new" teams, which include us."

"So, we're last?"

"Save the best for last, right?"

"Suppose so…"

XO

 _~ January 12_ _th_

The next day, all teams had congregated in the training room (which had a massive gallery upstairs for spectators). MH tapped a microphone to get silence.

"Thank you all for taking time out of your day to attend this Annual Final Smash Demonstration. Any changes to your Final Smash must be allowed by both me and Crazy Hand before the tournament's Opening Ceremony in 6 days' time. Let's get this going with last year's winners!" Two armoured males came into the simulator. The first had navy hair and a silver mask on with amber eyes. He had a dark cloak and a golden sword on his belt. His partner was smaller but buffer, with similar attire but silver and pink (which Sonic snickered about). He had a lance and a shield in comparison to the first man's sword.

"That's Meta Knight and Galactia Knight." Mario explained. "They were S-Class last year."

"I see…"

"And begin!" The two nodded and a Smash Ball formed. Meta Knight destroyed and cascaded an aura of darkness with his cape before a slash of gold sent the Sandbag flying. Galactia Knight then opened his and did a massive magenta beam from the sky as well as cutting with his lance at the same time. MH nodded. "Very good, you two! I approve of your Final Smashes. Next we have the 2nd placed team of last year's competition, Cloud and Aerith."

A blonde haired boy and a brunette girl entered the arena. Cloud charged at the sandbag and comboed it in mid-air, eventually smashing the object into the ground with tremendous force, but he felt his energy drain. Aerith then descended into a cyan storm of what seemed to be stardust and Cloud felt his energy replenish. They bowed when they got applause.

This went on for some time before, much to Mario and Sonic's surprise, two new faces came onto the stage. They looked like Eskimos, what with their coats and mallets.

"Hi! I'm Nana! This is my limiter and my brother Popo. We've just joined Smash Wars X."

"I thought I was the only newcomer around here…"

"You learn something new every day." Mario replied to Sonic's annoyed mumble. Nana and Popo, who nodded at his name, activated their Final Smash. They high-fived and a massive ice mountain formed at their feet. As they did, almost everyone shivered.

"Heh, cold customers, eh, Mario?"

"Yeah, but it barely affects me due to my fire."

"Lucky."

"Alright, down to our final pair."

Almost immediately, boos came from the majority of pairs. Mario scowled at them.

"Come on!"

"Mar, just ignore them."

"Alright. Come on." They headed down and Mario was the first to do his Final Smash, making a massive inferno blaze across the room. Sonic whistled. It had powered-up since yesterday. There were a few weak claps but the boos intensified. Mario booed back. Sonic joined in. "Your turn."

Gulping, Sonic took his mark. He couldn't show weakness. He HAD to do this and this time, without crashing into anything. He cracked open the Smash Ball. The power brought back the memories of the crash but he pushed it to one side and activated the transformation.

 _Now to show off._

He formed a golden tornado of sorts that blew with hurricane-like winds. He got inside it and made it go faster with golden lightning flying out of it. He also managed to dive-bomb the Sandbag and sent it flying, and he guessed he had moved like a golden streak of light judging he ended up near the wall again (which is a couple of metres away from the main audience). He flew back. He managed to stop this time just as the transformation cut out, making him land unsteadily on his feet.

He heard nothing. Everyone, including Mario and Master Hand, was looking at him in awe-struck amazement. Then a clap. Then two. Soon, the entire audience, including Mario's tormenters, were clapping and whooping.

"Wow, boy. That was one impressive show. Do you have a name for this transformation of yours?" MH seriously looked impressed.

Truth be told, he hadn't even thought of a name. He had to think of one on the spot. An idea came to him.

"Yeah, I have."

"And?"

"Super Sonic. My Final Smash is called Super Sonic."

XO

Sonic couldn't believe how popular he became after the show had ended. People from almost every team was asking him questions and it was really starting to affect his mental state. He felt almost suffocated. He must have blacked out because his vision went. When it came back, Mario was shielding him as they headed back upstairs.

"…?"

"It's alright, those idiots. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah…I blacked out again didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Took people by surprise."

"I bet it did." He then cringed.

"It's alright now, Sonic. We'll go get some peace and quiet, eh?" He got a defeated nod. As they entered the bedroom, Sonic clambered onto his bed, playing around with his hoodie sleeve. Mario couldn't help but smile. The action was so childlike. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping my mind occupied."

"In what way? Let me guess, you get bored easily." When he got a dark glance, he realized that he had been quick to judge. "I…I take that back."

"Good…" He sighed then, and Mario could tell he was really struggling to hold tears back. Mario said nothing. He sat next to his partner and gestured for a "contact moment" (Sonic's term for a loose hug). He took it, resting his head on Mario's left shoulder while Mario placed his left arm around his body. "You…you remember earlier this week when you told me if I felt…well…you-know…I was to tell you?"

"Yeah, I did say that." He froze. "You don't want to…?"

"No! I'm not saying that I want to do _that_ , that's not what I mean but I want to…want to…" Mario saw Sonic was trying to scratch his wrists with his nails.

"You want to…cut yourself…" He got a nod.

 _At least he told me before he got so overwhelmed that he actually did do it._

"You were right about one thing, Mar. It is an addiction. There is something I haven't told you." He rolled up his sleeve. Mario saw cuts that weren't there before. Quite a few. On both wrists.

"You're still doing it, aren't you?" Another nod.

"I can't stop myself. I usually get it in the middle of the night, so I can easily do it when you're asleep, no problem. This is the first time I've had the urge to do it during the day since…you know…that morning."

 _So he's been doing it behind my back…why am I not surprised? It also explains his good mood all week…_

After Mario's silence, Sonic couldn't hold back the tears.

"Spineless. That's what I am. So weak that I resort to this. I know how much it hurts and I know I shouldn't do it but it helps my anxiety, alright!?" His shouting was a bit out of character and Mario eventually came to the conclusion that his silence, to Sonic anyway, came across as hate. "…I'm just…broken…a failure…a disappointment…"

He was cut off by Mario wrapping his arms around his upper chest.

"You're not a failure nor a disappointment." He argued. "I agree that self-harm is an addiction and it isn't an easy one to kick. You want to know something? Remember I ran off from Link yesterday? You want to know the first thing I did when I got back up here?" He rolled up his sleeve and Sonic saw a recent clotted gash running down his forearm. "I cut myself. It just…it just helped I guess." He released Sonic and took his by the shoulders. "It's like I told you; we're in this together. I'm helping you but you're also helping me. Before I met you…I never thought of myself much. It was also me being stupid or weak or a freak…but then I met you. To be honest, if I hadn't…I probably would have killed myself by now, especially after all that booing downstairs. I get that on a daily basis."

"It was a bit intense…"

"You're more to me than just a partner, Sonic. Maybe not a friend, you're more than that now. You're almost like…I don't know…"

"…A soulmate."

Mario blinked at Sonic's interruption, but his answer made sense. It was true. They were soulmates.

"…Yeah, a soulmate…or a brother."

"It's a sweet thought…"

"Think on it." The bell went downstairs. The Final Smashes had taken 2 hours to complete, which meant snacks were being passed out downstairs. Mario gave Sonic a cheeky look. "Want to go get some cookies?"

"Hell yeah!"


	4. The Near-Death Experience

_~ January 18_ _th_

Mario groaned as his alarm went off. A pre-tournament party had taken place last night (neither he nor Sonic took part but the loud noise kept them up until at least 4 in the morning) and he was still exhausted. He had set the alarm for 1 in the afternoon. He saw Sonic was still asleep, snoring gently to himself. He chuckled silently to himself. They had to go down to the Smash Arena by 4 and, before then, there was a last chance to use the training facilities. Yawning, he stood and opened the curtains. Sonic barely stirred but he groaned a bit.

"Wake up, Sonic."

"…"

Mario playfully shook his head. If there was one thing Sonic was good at, it was sleeping.

"Sonic? Time to get up now…"

"5 more minutes mom…"

"No, now." He gently hit his shoulder. He must have been blinded by the light as he frantically moaned and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Afternoon, sleepyhead."

"…What time is it…?"

"1pm." Sonic groaned again and flopped down on the pillow.

"Too early…"

"Don't make me tickle you."

"You wouldn't dare." He got no answer except a smug smirk but Sonic didn't take any chances. "Alright! Alright! I'll get up." He jumped up and made his bed before going into the bathroom. Mario waited but noted he hadn't heard much. He had been in there a while. He politely knocked.

"You OK in there?"

"Y-Yeah…ugh, I'm alright."

"You don't sound alright."

"I slipped, alright? I'm just peachy. Gimme a minute." He then grunting and the door unlocked. Sonic was all dressed but he was badly limping.

"What exactly did you do?"

"Floor was wet. Did a classic banana-slip flip but without the banana." He saw panic fill Mario. "Mar, I'm fine. Just hit my foot hard. It'll wear off."

"It can't be too bad. I don't smell any blood."

"That reminds me. Vampires talk about scents…are they allowed to bite Limiters?"

"Unfortunately, there is no rule against it but many people refrain from doing so."

"OK…but after Link said earlier this week, I think he's onto me. He does keep giving me these creepy looks…" He shuddered.

"If anyone even thinks about biting you, I'd literally give them hell."

"What's your definition of hell?"

"The fiery kind."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side."

XO

"Right…let's get you measured, my dear." A blue-haired woman beamed as she began measuring Sonic. Because he was new, his measurements were needed for his costume for the Opening Ceremony. He wasn't into costume and that kind of thing but saying no was kind of out of the question. He had spoken to this woman before. Her name was Samantha Nakamura, MH's secretary with a secret love of costume design. It was her who made MH seem like a stern father, what with her input on his behaviour, almost like a behavioural coach of sorts. She giggled then, flicking Sonic's ears. "I love your ears, by the way."

"Oh…er…" He badly blushed, a bit embarrassed by the woman's comment. His ears twitched after the flick, the fur around them tingling (not as bad as his legs however). "…Er…thanks."

"You know, my son had ears too."

"Your son?"

"Yes, I had a son many years ago. Haven't seen him in years though."

"What happened? Can't be worse than what I've been through."

"Oh yes, MH was telling me." Sonic was going to KILL MH if he had told anyone else. What happened to confidentiality? "You see, my son was infected with the Stigma Virus at a young age and became a Mobian like yourself, though I cannot remember what animal he became. When he was 5, my husband died and I lost contact with my son at the age of 10. Never came home from school."

"Both of my parents are dead. Well, my dad is. My mum…well…who knows?"

"I'm sorry…I never imagined that…"

"It's cool. It's weird though…the day I got captured was on the way home from school…and my father also died when I was around 5 or 6."

"Do you remember his name?"

"Yeah, I do. Francis."

"F-Francis…"

"Well, Franklin but that was his little nickname. My mum's name was actually Samantha. Always loved that name."

"I hate to ask…but how old are you?"

"How are you two faring in there?" Mario stood his head in. It was fine, seeing as the team was both male. Sonic nodded.

"Doin' well." He turned back to the woman. "I'm 15."

"My little boy would be 15 by now. Birthday's 23rd June. Born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois."

"…That's my birthday…and I grew up there…" The penny finally dropped. "That means…you're my…"

"Um…what's going on here?"

"That means…you're my little baby boy…" Samantha started crying.

"Wait…MH's secretary and costume designer is your mother, Sonic?" Mario asked, confused. Sonic happily nodded and embraced Samantha. They stayed like that for at least 2 minutes before they released. Both were crying joyous tears.

"NAKAMURA! Are you done in there!?"

"Almost, sire!" She quickly finished the measurements, kissed Sonic's cheek and ran off to finish off her duties.

"Well…wasn't expecting you two to be related."

"I should have recognised her straightaway…how did I not see it!?"

"Sonic, it's alright." Mario smiled. "The important thing is that you have her back."

"Yeah, you're right."

"One question though…are you half-Japanese if Samantha is Japanese?"

"Third. I'm third-Japanese, third-American and third-Korean. Mom is only half-Japanese herself."

"You don't look it." He got an offended look. "I don't mean anything by that, by the way."

"Yo, Mario!" Fox called from the other side of the room. "Pre-tournament cakes are up! Want one?"

"Maybe in a bit." He turned to Sonic. "Want to go?"

"Can't resist a bit of cake. Hate to admit it, but I do have a really bad sweet tooth."

"Come on then." As they entered the hall, it was a fair of sorts with food stands and the Smashers (the official term for contenders) were happily partying just like last night.

"How do they have the energy?" Krystal asked, coming over with Fox with a pink-iced cupcake in paw. "Everyone went to bed at, like, 4am this morning?"

"Excitement, probably." Fox theorized.

"Yo, Limitless!"

Mario face-palmed as he turned to see Link, Navi and two other girls. The first was a bit taller than Link and had long brunette hair and similar elf-ears. She wore a golden crown around her forehead and an ancient-styled white and purple dress. Her partner was a strange young girl with a black head-mask of sorts, a black dress and tinted cyan skin with amber eyes. She had rich blonde locks tied into a messy plait. Mario recognised them as Princess Zelda and her partner Midna, who were F-Rank, yet Zelda and Link were in a relationship due to her performance last year being hindered due to an injury she sustained to her back the previous year to that.

"What do you want, Link?"

"Ooh, feisty as ever!" Midna taunted, floating in mid-air with black energy flowing around her.

"Leave off, you guys." Zelda warned with Navi nodding in agreement. Link and Midna laughed regardless.

"Why? We're not doing anything!"

"Want a fight, Link?" Fox threatened. "Leave the two alone."

"Why is an A-Rank like yourself hanging around with G-Rank delinquents? Look, I'm gonna lay this straight. Get out of my face, Star Fox or I'll…"

"Again! Star Fox is the name of my TEAM, and NOT my NAME! I'm Fox McCloud! Star Fox is my team, Link! God, how many times!?"

"Uh-huh…yeah, like, whatever." He then eyed Sonic. "My, my…you smell better every day."

"Don't even think about it, Link." Mario warned. "You do not get anywhere near him!"

"Why? What do you think I'm gonna do? Bite him? Any idea how dangerous that is? I'll get thrown out of the tournament!"

"I'm just warning you now. Touch him and I'll be forced to… _do_ something."

"Oh, scar-ee!" Link taunted but the group left, with both Navi and Zelda giving the group apologetic looks. Mario sighed.

"I hate that idiot…"

"Hey, guys! The Assists are here!" Mario recognised the voice of one Falco Lombardi (a friend of Fox's – he was a blue falcon with similar attire) shouting over the music playing. A group of characters came in, waving and clearly having fun. Sonic noticed one in particular. A Mobian boy, around 18 years of age, with spiked black hair with red dreadlocks as well as maroon-red eyes. He wore a black jacket, jeans and rocket shoes, as well as gloves and rings around his wrists. He looked…familiar somehow.

"I'll be back." He said, heading over to the boy. The boy's head jerked up when he saw Sonic.

"What do you want, kiddo?" He hissed.

"Nothing…just wanted to say hi seeing as this is my first tournament."

"Oh, you must be Mario's partner." He guessed, getting a nod. "Master Hand told us about you. Nice to meet you, I suppose."

"By the way, I'm Sonic."

"Shadow." They shook hands.

"I know that name from somewhere…"

"Likewise…you do look a bit familiar but I'm not where I…" Shadow clicked his fingers. "Chicago Academy!"

"Oh yeah! We were both on the track team!"

"You know Shadow, Sonic?" Sonic jumped when Mario spoke behind him.

"Don't do that, Mar!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Funny, and yes, I do. We went to the same junior school."

"Oh, I see."

"It's interesting that you're competing again, Mario." Shadow nodded. "I mean, how long as it been? 3 years?"

"Something like that, yeah…"

A sudden blur hit Mario then, making him land roughly on the ground.

"What the…!?" Sonic exclaimed, highly confused.

"Oh joy, this is going to be cringe-worthy…" Shadow moaned, face-palming. Mario saw a large, muscular male with a fake turtle shell on as well as a mutilated face, fiery amber eyes and "hair" as well as sharp claws and spiked bracelets around his wrists and ankles.

"What was that for, Bowser?"

"You're just a little runt."

"Lay off!" Sonic warned, making Bowser look at him. He blinked before laughing.

"Wow! Link wasn't kidding when he said Mario had a child for a partner!"

"What's your damage!?"

"Sonic, I wouldn't pick a fight with Bowser. He may be an E-Rank but he's dangerous." Shadow warned.

"Screw that! No-one gets the drop on my partner!"

"You askin' for a fight, punk?"

"No, but we will if you dare touch Mario again!" He was interrupted by Link, who restrained him. Bowser laughed.

"Um…you may want to rethink your words if you value your mortality."

"W-What…?"

"Any idea what vampire venom does to a person's body?"

"It changes them, doesn't it?"

"Not always. It's a very extreme and painful way to die. It's like having lava for blood, a fire in your heart and lungs. You feel like you're burning to death."

Needless to say, Sonic stopped talking. The very truth made him very scared. Nevertheless, he glared at Bowser.

"You won't get away with this."

"Why not?"

"What do you get out of this? Both of you?"

"Entertainment." Link answered.

"Amusement." Bowser answered.

"Screw both of you!" He tried wiggling out of Link's grip and failed miserably.

"You asked for this, you freak!"

Everything blurred. Pain hit the side of the right side of his neck; almost like two needles had struck his throat. He could feel the blood trickling down his skin, but everything blurred. His body felt hot, his breathing becoming erratic as his body entered some sort of pained panic phase. He could feel himself spasming. Everything burned. Link was right. He felt like he was on fire as the heat became unbearable. He screamed. All the times Infinite burned him came back and then the suffocation torture when his breathing became restricted…

…and then everything melted into darkness…

XO

 _Am I…alive…or dead?_

That was the question. He was floating in some black void, evident on how weightless and bloated his body felt. How happened? Was he even alive? Or was he dead?

If this was death…it wasn't as bad as he had imagined. Just floating for all of eternity. Sure, he would quickly get bored…but at least it was better than rotting in hell or being forced to watch your life replay before your eyes in an endless loop. He felt almost…peaceful, he supposed the word was. He could live with this.

"…nic…"

He froze. Was that a voice?

"So…ic…ca…u…ear…e…?"

Letters…or were they some words?

"Sonic…!"

He knew that voice. Mario.

He must have been dead…he couldn't awaken…he didn't know how…!

Pain. Pain carved its way into his soul, an endless torrent of agony as another scream ripped through his ears as his body became heavy and the void of shadows became consuming and suffocating.

Light. Blinding light. White, blurred light. So, he was alive after all? He saw distant figures over him but his vision stayed blurred. He couldn't move. He saw a red figure over him, shaking him, his distant voice a yell but he was frozen in place, voice disabled. He hear the voice fall into noises. Cries? Sobs? Something like that? He felt a sharp feeling in the left side of his neck. Everything jolted into life. Noises deafened him, vision crystal clear. His body did nothing at first but choke on the air, wheezes escaping him. There was a period of confusion. Where was he? What has happened? What was going on now?

"Alright, you idiots, give him some space!"

Master Hand. Of course.

He managed to get his breath back. His neck still ached and he felt incredibly light-headed and tired. Things were coming back to him. Bowser had tackled Mario and Link…

Link.

Link had…bitten him.

He felt someone's arms fling around him. He could instantly tell it was Mario. Even though he wasn't fully aware of what was going on, the smell of pasta was undeniable.

"You're alright!" Mario cried. Sonic could tell by his voice he had been crying. "Don't scare me like that, alright?" Was he mad? He sounded it. He just hung his head, inching away from the Italian, although Mario quickly realized his mistake. "No…I-I'm not mad at you…Sonic, I'm sorry…I…"

"…" He couldn't find neither the strength nor the courage to say anything, despite the fact that he needed to say something. Eventually, he found both of those factors. "…I-It's alright…" He tentatively reached to feel his neck to confirm his theory. Sure enough, he felt two clotted dots on his neck where the skin was badly penetrated.

"I wouldn't. I would leave the marks alone." MH directed and Sonic did as he was told.

"What…?"

"Link. He bit your neck. He sucked a bit of your blood, hence why you might feel a bit faint." Oh, so that was it. Made sense. He nodded for Mario to continue. "…Giovanni and some other doctors managed to neutralise his venom but then…" He trailed off. He was beginning to cry again. When Mario cried, Sonic could think of 10 other emotions that looked better on him. Mario and tears was like mixing fire and ice; it wasn't a good match. "…then you went into cardiac arrest. The venom had reached your heart. Thankfully, they managed to save you…"

So…the pain in that void was…him dying…?

"It's possible you experienced a NDE."

"A…A what?" What did MH's letters mean?

"NDE. A near-death experience." MH clarified. "It's usually happens with this kind of thing…"

Should he tell them?

"…I think I did."

"You did?" Mario asked. "What was it like?"

"It was like…well…it was just darkness…but I heard you. I think you were yelling my name."

"Y-You heard me?"

Sonic faintly nodded. "…I was almost floating…it felt odd but at the same time, almost…a-almost…I don't know…good. Then I felt a lot of pain…I'm guessing that was the cardiac arrest…then I was back here."

"That's…one heck of a story…but I believe you. It's crazy enough to be true. Like MH said, NDE." Mario grinned.

"We best leave Sonic to rest a bit. He'll need his strength tonight."

"Alright." He turned back to his partner. "How about you get some rest, eh?"

Any other day, he would have agreed to this. Anyone would. However, the thought of sleep scared him. Why was he afraid of sleep of all things? Thoughts were whizzing through his head. What if the darkness never went away? What if he couldn't wake up? Would he die? Everything blurred. He knew what was happening: he was having a blackout, but it was weird. It ended as quickly as it begun, flashing images filling up his brain until he heard a strange high-pitched strangled scream.

Was that…him…?

He felt warmth envelope him. He could tell instantly it was Mario. He was more comfortable with Mario's contact now, so his body didn't tense at all. He could hear him gently cooing him with animalistic noises. He usually hated that part of his biology, but it was a calming sound to hear and it did help him get a grip on his shot nerves.

"…You alright…?"

How do you answer that one? How could anyone believe that you're afraid of falling asleep? It just sounded completely ridiculous. The only reason he feared sleep before was because of nightmares, and Mario's presence always made that feeling ebb away. The revelation dawned on him that the NDE had only heightened his already-existing sleep phobia.

"It's alright, Sonic. You can tell me. I won't judge, honest."

He wouldn't believe him…but if he said he wouldn't judge, he would just have to trust Mario. Easier said than done.

"…I-I'm s-scared…"

His voice was only a mutter, but Mario heard him.

"Scared of what?" His voice was caring and gentle. Saying the truth took a lot of courage but finally, the words came out of his mouth.

"…Sleep…"

He waited for the laughs, the telling-off, the scolds. It didn't come. Mario looked slightly surprised, but he seemed to understand.

"What element of it scares you?"

"…All of it…it was always the nightmares…and you helped with that but now…" He badly shivered. "…what if I…if I…d-don't wake up…?"

He could almost see Mario's heart sink. He brought his partner in for a comforting hug, his fingers running through his azure hair.

"I promise nothing like that will happen. Not on my watch, it won't." Sonic gave Mario a weird look. "Death and sleep are two entirely separate things. I get that some people say that death is like falling asleep but believe me, it isn't. I know that sleep makes you vulnerable, but nothing is going to happen." An idea formed. "I'll tell you something. Have you heard of a boy called Lucas?"

"No."

"He's an F-Rank Controller. Young kid, around 8 years old. He has sleep phobia as well. Gets therapy for it but nothing works. Believe me, you're not the only one to have it." Sonic only shrugged at this but a wave of drowsiness washed over him and, before he knew it, he flopped onto the bed, almost drifting off. He felt Mario tuck the sheets around him. "I won't let anything hurt you, alright? I'll wake you up in a bit."

XO

He had finally found his trail.

Through the snowy forest, a figure stalked. He was a Mobian with black hair and ears, as well as a long white-tipped tail and clawed hands. He had amber eyes and wore a black jacket, denim ripped jeans and black hi-top sneakers. Sure, it was cold, but the boy's scent lingered in the air, making revenge soar in his soul.

 _Don't do this._

"Shut up, dad."

 _You know you're only following a lie. I didn't…_

"I said, shut up!" He roared. He hated having a voice permanently in his head. He looked at his chest. A magenta jewel was embedded in his skin, making his body have a glitchy crimson aura just like his father had.

His father…Infinite.

Thinking of his father made hate rise in him. He never got any attention. Not after his father had adopted a stupid hedgehog boy for a servant, who he actually treated more like a son than a slave. He had put him in his place and had filled the boy's head with lies, one being that his father was the villain and not him. The plan had backfired. He had returned home from school and found his father dead. No wounds, no blood…just a cold, lifeless body and the boy was nowhere to be found. He knew what had happened. He knew that a demon the boy could become with extreme rage. He had tested it and was proud of the results.

"DANG IT!"

A voice interrupted his inner thoughts. He saw a man clad in green leaning against a tree, cigarette in hand. He looked like an elf, what with his large ears and weird fashion sense.

"Link, you did ask for this. What were you thinking!? Now, we won't claim any points for the first 5 battles!"

"Relax, Navi, we can still win."

"No we can't."

"Be positive!"

Interesting…his partner seemed to be a fairy or other mythical creature.

"Excuse me, you two." He interrupted.

"What do you want, kid?" He hated it when people brought up his age. He may have been only 12 years of age, but his power easily made up for his small size.

"Nothing. I just overheard your conversation."

"Oh, I'm just ranting. Nothing to bother with."

"Ranting about what, may I ask?"

"The fact I can't get any points in the first 5 battles of this year's Smash Wars X."

"The gameshow?" He got a nod. "Oh, I am aware of the show. I've never really had the incentive to watch it but maybe I should. I'm watching the opening ceremony at least."

"Oh, you're on the way to the arena?" The fairy, Navi, spoke. He nodded.

"That's right. How come you got punished?"

"Me and Bowser were toying around with Mario and his dumb partner and I got too riled up and I bit him."

"Bit him…? Oh, right, you're vampires. I remember hearing that rumour." He got a threatening look. "I promise I won't tell!"

"You shouldn't have bitten Sonic in the first place, riled up or not."

"Yeah, but he's so…!"

"Hang on…did you say Sonic?"

"You know him?" Navi asked.

"Blue hedgehog Mobian, around 15 years old? Yeah, I know him."

 _Better not tell them, boy. The last thing I know you want is to blow your cover._

"How?" Navi pushed.

"I…he…um…" He had to think of something and fast. "We…we're old friends, you see? Had a falling out years ago but hey, I thought I'd surprise him."

"That's a great idea! Seeing an old friend would make his day. There is a meet and greet at the end of the ceremony, so you can see him then." Link rolled his eyes at this as Navi explained.

"I might. What are you names, may I ask?"

"I'm Link." Link introduced with a confident voice. "And this is my limiter, Navi. What's yours?"

A devilish smirk crossed the boy's face.

"My name…is Mason."

XO

He woke up with a sharp gasp, sweat running down his face as he hyperventilated. He was still alive, thank God. What was this feeling? Dread? No. Fear? Partly. He felt…cornered.

 _He's getting closer…I can feel him getting closer…!_

"Hey, shush now." He hadn't realized that Mario was sitting right next to him, patting his shoulder.

"S-Sorry Mar…just…"

"A bad dream." Mario finished off. His hand got shaken off.

"H-He's coming…"

"Who? Who is?"

"…Mason."

Mario recognised the name. Infinite's son. 3 years younger than Sonic.

"How do you know?"

"I…I can feel him getting closer…h-he's going to kill me."

"I'm NOT going to let ANYONE kill you." Mario grimly promised. "That's a promise."

"How are things going in here?"

Mario turned to see Shadow.

"Why did you stick around?"

"Well, mainly because I feel a little guilty. What did I do? Stand by and watch him almost get killed by that stupid Hyrulian."

"You're not the only one who feels guilty."

"Y-You're feeling…what?"

"Guilty." Mario answered, not meeting the Mobian's gaze. The word sounded unfamiliar but he knew the feeling and the signs of it. He felt the exact same way after that whole "episode" that morning. "I should have defended you…but what did I do? Sit like a coward. Paralyzed by fear. Because I didn't react, Link bit you…and I could have lost you…"

"But you didn't!" Sonic exclaimed. "I'm still here!"

"I know and I'm glad…but at the time, I was terrified. Terrified that I would lose my best friend."

Best…friend…?

"I…never asked but…after that whole biting thing, how long was I out?"

"About 30 minutes. They worked really quickly and you've been asleep for around…hmmm…hour and a half tops?"

"Alright…but this isn't your fault, Mario. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I provoked Link."

"It's not your fault, either." Mario argued. "Let me take the blame for this one, please."

"What was MH's reaction?"

"Not good." Sonic also knew that look, as well as the fact Mario was pulling at his sleeve. He had done it, so he knew that Mario had done.

"Did you…?"

"I didn't know what else to do…but you want to know something? That's the first time I've done it and it hasn't curbed the pain. It did nothing. No emotional high, no relish, no nothing…I just felt empty, like I can't live without you…"

"OK…awkwardness…I'm going to…you know…go…" Shadow exited the room, rather in a comic manner. Sonic looked at Mario.

"What are you trying to say, Mar?"

"…You're gonna hate me if I say it. It's stupid."

"Hey, you didn't judge me when I told you about my sleep phobia. What makes you think I'm gonna hate you for this?"

"Because it's so stupid. We're not even the same species, let alone compatible but I can't ignore my feelings anymore."

"Go on."

"I'm…" He trailed off.

"You're…?"

"…Well…I'm only guessing here but…I think…I love you."

Saying that Sonic was astonished was an understatement. His cheeks badly burned. His heart pounded. Was Mario pulling his leg or was he being serious? He had hidden his face underneath his cap, both embarrassed and fearing Sonic's reaction.

"Well…I think it was brave to say that."

"…"

Sonic knew what was right. He pulled Mario towards him and their lips connected. This was surreal for both of them. It only lasted a few seconds before they repelled, with one looking shy and the other shocked.

"…Did you just…kiss me?" Mario stuttered. Sonic definitely looked shy and silently nodded, a smile on his face.

"…U-Uh…yeah…I guess I did…because I think I'm in love with you too."

For Mario, a rush of happiness ran through him. He definitely wasn't expecting things to go this well! He was expecting a rejection or a shout…but not this. This…must be a dream, surely! He pinched himself. Nothing happened.

"Heh, you ain't dreaming, Mar."

"Clearly…but what about the age gap? You're 15 and mortal. I'm physically 24 and over 400 in vampire years and…" Sonic shut him up with another short kiss. As he backed off, he flicked Mario's nose.

"Who cares about the age gap?"

"…Yeah…yeah, you're right…! All I'm fearing now is coming clean."

"Is it against the rules?"

"No, but it's never happened before. I never felt this way with Pauline and Mimi."

"Who?"

"My past limiters. I don't like talking about them." There was a very short awkward pause. "So…does this mean we're in a relationship now?"

"…Um…" Sonic shrugged. "…I guess so…"

A loud bell then rang. The two looked at each other.

It was almost time. Almost time for the Opening Ceremony.


	5. The Opening Ceremony

"Man, this itches!"

Mario giggled and smoothed out Sonic's jacket. Smash Wars X seemed to have a thing with glitz and glamour, as Sonic's jacket was covered in azure sequins and glitter.

"It's a new material to you, so your skin's not used to it. Just give it a few moments." He himself was wearing dark glittered dungarees and a red shiny satin top, alongside brown boots. His cap was normal but the M was all shiny and shimmered in the light.

"Why is your outfit so similar to your usual attire?"

"I kind of have a style…and I kind of asked Samantha to make it this way."

"You sly dog."

"So I am."

The arena was pretty dark, as it was night-time. They had an atmospheric shell to make it warm because it was winter. Mario could tell Sonic was nervous. He slipped his hand into his own and squeezed.

"We're going to be fine. All you have to do is smile, wave and show off your abilities."

"Easy for you to say. YOU don't have social anxiety. They'll all be looking at me…"

"Imagine them all naked."

" _What!?_ " The suggestion made him rethink what Mario had spoken. The Italian only laughed at his reaction.

"It's weird but it's true. Weeg told me that. If you think of that, it'll make you laugh instead of make you scared. Get me?"

"Hey, you two!" Mario looked down to see Nana and Popo coming up to them, both donning sequined Eskimo coats. Even their hammers had glitter on now. Popo was hiding behind his sister. "You doing OK?"

"Oh, hey. Yeah, we're alright."

"It's Mario, right? You're re-entering this year?"

"That's right."

"And your awesome partner of course! Remind me of your name." Sonic stuttered on the letters.

"U-Uh…S-Sonic…"

"You're shy too, eh? Popo's like that. Can't handle crowds. He's dreading the ceremony."

"Make that two of us, Popo. I'm literally terrified here."

Popo laughed at this. He seemed to be a bit more at ease now.

"I just hope I don't faint or something…" He mumbled. His voice was quite light and kind, but also had that ounce of fear in it.

"The worst thing is that you piss yourself. That's the absolute worst."

"Paula did that when she and Ness joined 5 years ago. No-one ever lets her live it down. Ness protects her though." Mario sniggered.

"Paula? Ness?"

"ESP pair. B-Rank. Ness and Lucas are best friends."

"Out of the way, runts!" A giant humanoid creature in a dark glittery cloak and heavy metal mask roared, pushing many of the smaller Smashers out of the way to get to his spot. Sonic felt intimidated just by his appearance and voice alone. Unfortunately, the creature and Sonic met eye contact. "What do you want, freak?"

"I…uh…nothing…"

"Zant, that's enough." Zant turned to see a grey-skinned human with fiery ginger hair, also dressed in a sparkled dark cloak and a glittery crown as well as heavy armour alongside a golden crack in his chest. "I've told you to not go off on a tangent. Idiot."

"My apologies, Ganondorf, my master."

A cold feeling seeped into Sonic's soul. He wasn't aware of Mario asking him what was wrong, nor him escorting Sonic outside for some cold fresh air. All he saw was a familiar jackal, mask covering most of his face with one eye visible; an amber iris with red sclera. His body was cascaded in a dark uniform, black clawed hands outstretched. His mouth wasn't visible, but he could imagine the disapproving look.

 _ **You have disappointed me.**_

 _I'm sorry…_

 _ **You have betrayed me.**_

 _I'm sorry!_

 _ **You have destroyed my trust in you. Now, you shall get your punishment.**_

 _No! Please, master! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I won't talk to her again, I promise!_

 _ **Prove to me you're sorry. Prove to me I shouldn't kill you right here and now. You're a freak, Sonic, and you always will be. A slave like yourself doesn't deserve happiness! What do I always tell you?**_

… _Friendship…is only an illusion Master. The best way to survive is to only rely on yourself…_

 _ **That's right. However, I must still dish out your punishment. Let's see here…strangulation…or drowning…oh, I know…let me hear your strangled cries, hedgehog.**_

He felt Infinite's hands enclose around his neck, making chokes come out of his mouth instead of words. He seriously couldn't breathe.

 _S-S-Stop…p-p-please…I-I can't…_

 _ **Have you learnt your lesson, mutant?**_

 _Y-Y-Y-Yes…!_

 _ **Fine.**_

He let go, but everything went black.

XO

"…SONIC!?"

He was met with a face right in his own once light came into his eyes, making him squeal and momentarily panic. He realized the face he saw was Mario's, so that calmed him down.

"…M-Mar…?" He froze when Mario latched onto him, obviously close to tears.

"A-Are you alright!?"

"Y-Yeah…I think so…" He felt his throat. The skin was tender and talking did hurt a bit. "…What happened…?"

"…I'm not really sure…you just blacked out…it was almost like you were trying to…to strangle yourself with your hands…I tried to stop you but your grip was like iron."

So…Infinite strangling him was actually him doing it to himself to stimulate it?

"I…I thought it was…"

"Mason?"

"No…no, not him…it was Infinite…it's never been that vivid…" He badly shuddered. Mario huddled up close to him and comforted him.

"That's all in the past now. It's all over."

"I know." A sudden twinge came from his wrists. He knew what his body wanted to do and he wasn't about to fall into that habit again. Mario instantly knew.

"You don't need to do it."

"I know, I know…and I ain't gonna."

"Good." He then looked over and saw a massive clock. The time read 7:45pm. "15 minutes to go…you ready?"

"…I…I guess so…"

XO

"Sorry, kid, no ticket, no entry. Now beat it!" A guard pushed Mason back, almost pushing him over.

"Oh come on! I have a friend competing!"

"Tough luck, mate. No ticket, no entry!"

"I didn't want to do this…but you've left me no choice." He activated the gem on his chest. **"You…will…obey…me…!"**

The guard's eyes turned a magenta and glowed. He saluted.

"Hail…Lord…Mason."

" **You will let me through."**

"Please…go on…through…Master…" The gate opened. Mason deactivated the gem and slipped through before the guard noticed. He had to do the same with the door guard but soon, he was in.

 _I wish you wouldn't use the gemstone for mind-control. What are you planning to do?_

"You'll see, dad, you'll see." He mumbled to himself as he found a spare seat that wasn't reserved and sat. He had 10 minutes until the main event. He couldn't wait to see Sonic again. Oh, how he was looking forward to killing him…

XO

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF ALL AGES! ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE!?"

Cheers.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET THIS PARTY ROLLIN'!"

A comic scream came through the microphone as a white light sped across the sky.

"Ahem…my apologies for my brother there. Ladies and gentlemen, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! Here are the teams of this year's Smash Wars X! They'll be coming out 1 by 1 in the order of completion from last year's competition. Tell me, world, are you ready!?"

The sound in the arena was astonishing. Mario and Sonic could hear it from the back of the queue.

"Ready?" Mario gave Sonic's hand a reassuring squeeze. After a small gulp, Sonic nodded as the line began moving.

"R-Ready as I'll ever be…"

 **META KNIGHT AND GALACTIA KNIGHT!**

The two knights walked proudly into the arena. Since they were last year's champions, they had special lighting and music, which dimmed for the rest of the teams.

 **CLOUD STRIFE AND AERITH GAINSBOROUGH!**

Cloud was considered one of the hottest guys in the tourney, so Aerith chuckled nervously at how many ladies were fangirling over him.

 **CEREZA AND JEANNE**

Cereza, who went under the name Bayonetta, was a mysterious woman and Jeanne was her ex-rival and partner. They shot light bullets into the sky while flirting with every man they could see, including the cameramen and staff members.

 **FALCO LOMBARDI AND KATT MONROE**

Falco was a blue falcon while Katt was a light-pink cat. Both had more animal DNA than a Mobian, and were known as Anthropomorphs (around 20-30% infected). Falco threw a spherical red object into the sky and Katt shot at it with twin Blasters, making it implode in a red and amber light.

 **SHEIK AND IMPA**

Sheik was a blonde-haired ninja whose face was a mystery and Impa was someone similar, but much more serious and ladylike. The two showed off their teleportation skills and threw ninja stars. One hit one of the cameras, and it was Impa who calmly apologized to a mad stagehand.

 **LINK AND NAVI**

Link was extremely popular as he showed himself off. Navi was flying next to him and did a light show made from cyan stardust, which made everyone gape in awe. Her skills got more and more impressive with each tournament and she certainly didn't disappoint.

 **LUIGI AND PRINCESS DAISY**

Luigi threw a green fireball into the sky while Daisy made a flower storm pick up. Many people grabbed the flowers to keep.

 **DARK PIT AND AMAZON PANDORA**

Dark Pit, who usually went under the alias "Kuro" was a black palette swap to Pit and was known for his…ahem…agro attitude. His partner, a blue-haired girl called Amazon Pandora blew pink fire kisses to her fans.

 **MEWTWO AND DIANCIE**

Mewtwo was known as a Pocket Creature, a humanoid creature able to be trained as a fighting machine. He looked like half-cat and half-embryo. Diancie was a purple-haired girl with a dress made out of pink quartz and diamond. She created a storm of jewels to impress the audience.

 **PRINCE MARTH AND PRINCESS NYNA**

Both Marth and Nyna were of royal blood, but they were more the warrior type. Marth was a navy-haired "Prince Valiant" what with his feminine haircut and Nyna was a royale girl with long albino hair and magical powers.

 **FOX McCLOUD AND KRYSTAL**

Fox and Krystal seemed shy as they came into view. Their hands were locked together in a strong hold. Krystal was now holding a golden bio-staff with a cyan crystal on the end, which she used to fire a cyan stream of light into the sky like a beacon.

 **PIKACHU AND MIMIKYU**

Pikachu was a young Pocket Creature with abnormal yellow hair and wore a matching hoodie. He had red cheeks that stored electricity and pointed ears on his head as well as large and cute brown eyes. He shot a Thunder Bolt into the sky. Mimikyu was a shy girl with auburn hair and wore a discoloured beige and black dress almost she had failed to copy Pikachu's style.

 **IKE AND MIST**

Ike was a muscle-bound swordsman with spiky indigo hair and a very calm, friendly attitude. Mist, his sister and partner, was a Healer, but also had some magical prowess. With her brunette hair, you couldn't really tell they were related.

 **PIT AND VIRIDI**

Pit and Viridi strolled on in confidence. Pit's uniform had been glammed up with shiny golden armour: the Three Sacred Treasures, which was part of his Final Smash. Viridi's usual attire now had an ivy and vine cloak to show off her divine status, plus her makeup (red eyeshadow, crimson lipstick and green eyeliner) make her scream "Nature Goddess".

 **NESS AND PAULA**

Ness and Paula were both ESPs, being able to move objects with their minds and use "PK" moves in battle. Ness had jet black hair and a striped t-shirt. Paula was a blonde and was mentally stronger, though she always sucked up to Ness due to the "terms" of their friendship.

 **DIDDY KONG AND DIXIE KONG**

Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong were chimpanzee Anthropomorphs. Diddy was brown-haired and wielded a peanut popgun while Dixie was more into using bubblegum-based weaponry which she kept hidden under her pink beret. She also had beautiful blonde hair, short that it was.

 **PRINCESS PEACH AND DIMENTIO**

Peach was a beautiful lady with golden locks and a sweet manner to match. Dimentio was more scheming: a master manipulator magician with the ability to harness the power of alternate and new dimensions. The two had the perfect balance of magic and power.

 **PALUTENA AND MEDUSA**

Palutena was the Goddess of Light, and had lime hair alongside a white dress glittered with gold armour and jewellery. Medusa was the Queen of the Underworld, and was like a humanoid snake. She wore a purple and red dress and her dark hair was actually living and venomous snakes. They shot each other dirty looks as they waved to the crowd.

 **JIGGLYPUFF AND XERNEAS**

Jigglypuff was an excitable girl with long curly pink locks and blue eyes, as well as having a innate talent for singing. She always did a live sing concert on the final night of the tourney with Diancie and Krystal. Xerneas was a male with rainbow hair and a long blue robe that shone with rainbow-imbrued diamonds. He also had antlers.

 **SOLID SNAKE AND MEI-LING**

Snake was an agent with a tendency to like hiding in a cardboard box. Mei-Ling, born in China, was an intelligence genius and attacked with hi-tech weapons, many of which were revamped and upgraded in-between matches. It was her way of using a loophole in a rule that stated that weapons in the tournament couldn't be changed.

 **ROY AND LYNDIS**

Roy and Lyndis were both masters of the swords and had been in Smash Wars X for many years. Roy had fiery red hair and a very dreamy muscle structure while Lyn was slim and had hair the colour of sunset-lit grass. Everyone got serious when she was on stage. Rumour had it that she learnt the best from Marth.

" **YOUNG" LINK AND MAJORA**

"Young" Link was Link's brother with the same name (weirdly). He had a less-elaborate costume and was more simple-minded. His partner, the jester-like, insane Majora was a strawed creature with a creepy mask on his face, amber eyes swirling with madcap mischief. He was joined by two fairy-like creatures like Navi; Tael and Tatl.

 **YOSHI AND BIRDO**

Yoshi was a teenager in a green dinosaur hoodie with a whip that looked like a tongue. He could also use missiles disguised as eggs. His partner, Birdo, was a long-haired magenta female with similar abilities. Her only downfall was that she was more-or-less mute.

 **BOWSER JUNIOR AND WENDY O. KOOPA**

Bowser Junior, a young version of Bowser (his dad) had a paintbrush on him and created creatures using some graffiti-like paint that moved like lava and was corrosive to touch. Wendy, his adopted sister, was being careful on to step on it, as she hated getting dirty, being the pampered whiny sister that she was. In her hand was a Power Wand.

 **LUCARIO AND NECROZMA**

Lucario was a blue-haired Pocket Creature and an aurakinetic with the ability to manipulate and detect a person's lifeforce visibly. His partner, the dark and mysterious Necrozma, was a man clad in crystalline-like black armour. He had strange psychic and dark abilities that no-one could really fathom, not even his partner.

 **WOLF O'DONNELL AND LEON POWALSKI**

Wolf came out blazing his guns while Leon held back, mesmerized by the bright lights. Visibly groaning, as his voice was muted over the pounding music, Wolf grabbed him and was forced to drag him along behind him. This happened every year.

 **WARIO AND ASHLEY**

Wario was an oversized Italian with a lust for money and power. He was also a bike gang member, so he had a motorcycle in battle. His partner was Ashley, a powerful but lonely witch with a tendency to get her spells wrong, which usually resulted in chaos on the battlefield. Everyone booed Wario, just like they did for his long-time friend Waluigi.

 **AI AND KATRINA**

Ai skipped ahead of her Anthropomorph friend Katrina. Ai was one of the youngest Controllers, an 8 year old with pink hair in pigtails. Katrina was a panther fortune teller, and her voodoo and wisdom with the stars granted her vast universal magic to assist her and Ai.

 **LITTLE MAC AND RYU**

Both boxers, the two ran into the light to show themselves off. Little Mac wore green while Ryu, being Japanese, wore the traditional white and red attire, but also had more inner power than his partner.

 **SQUIRTLE AND SYLVEON**

Squirtle was an aqua-haired and young Pocket Creature who was half-turtle, half-human. He surrounded himself in water to do an aerial water show. Sylveon was a young light-pink haired child wearing ribbons and had abilities like a fairy from childrens' stories. She wasn't taken very seriously though, so that was maybe why her waves were weak and only half-meant.

 **RED KETCHUM AND CHARIZARD**

Red was a brown-haired Pocket Creature Trainer (nicknamed "Pokemon Trainer" for short) whose partner, a dragon-like male called Charizard (known for being very disobedient) fired flames into the sky unexpectedly, earning a scolding in which he responded with a "hmph".

 **ROBIN AND REFLET**

Robin and Reflet were magician twins, known every spell from their tomes and had their swords embellished with thunder attacks, especially the feared Thoron attack. The two were showing off their skills using Thunder and Thorons until the stadium was ablaze with the aerial electricity show.

 **SAMUS ARAN AND DARK SAMUS**

Samus was a bounty hunter clad in orange and red armour, and was one of the originally Smashers. Her dark counterpart, the more aggressive and more powerful "Dark Samus" fired Phazen into the sky, making countless lasers shoot down. She rolled her covered eyes at everyone's panic while Samus urged for calm and apologized on Dark Samus's behalf.

 **KING DEDEDE AND WOLFWRATH**

Dedede was a chubby King with blue hair while WolfWrath was mostly animal, unlike everyone else (70% infected with Stigma) and had the ability to absorb fire to gain more power as well as use its claws to send someone into a deep sleep until he is defeated enough for that claw to disintegrate.

 **BOWSER AND POM POM**

Bowser growled and let out a massive torrent of fire from his mouth, wowing the audience. He was low-tier but respected for his massive power and monstrous reputation. Pom Pom, also a fake turtle but with a red shell, was like a small ninja child, with her toys and tomboy red locks.

 **DONKEY KONG AND CANDY KONG**

Donkey Kong was a massive ape Anthropomorph with little fashion sense, with his only attire being a loose red tie and some ripped jeans. His girlfriend and partner Candy was more dignified and was a skilled acrobat but didn't have much in the weapon department apart from karate kicks and punches, which were pretty flimsy and easy to dodge.

 **MEGA MAN AND PAC-MAN**

Mega Man, a man clad in strong blue armour and PAC-Man, a ghost-munching ghost buster, were known as massive mascots of the series, being famous in both of their respective countries. To say the whooping and cheering was deafening was a massive understatement as even Mega Man had to cringe at the noise.

 **MR. GAME AND WATCH AND DUCK HUNT**

Mr. Game and Watch was certainly an oddity, being mute and a shape-shifting anomaly. He beeped randomly; the only noise he could muster. The "Duck Hunt" duo consisted of an Anthropomorph male dog and female duck. The duck was more of a tool for distraction; the Dog had the means to do the real damage

 **LUCINA AND CHROM**

Lucina, a navy-haired swordswoman and distant relative to Marth, waved as she was cheered alongside her father, Chrom, who had similar coloured hair and wore silver armour on top of his clothes.

 **SHULK AND DUNBAN**

Shulk was a Homs, a human from an island full of monsters and defended colonies called Bionis. Dunban, a gritty swordsman and mercenary, was his partner and both wielding a sword called the Monado. Shulk's was red and Dunban's was a dusky black. They activated Smash Forme and sent twin air-cuts into the sky which created an explosion as they met.

 **LUCAS AND PORKY MINCH**

Lucas was a very timid boy, despite his powers being almost identical and on par to Ness and Paula. Porky was much more confident but less human, being near-emotional and only cared for his remote-control spider pals. One was with him. It was no wonder they were so low down.

 **PRINCESS ROSALINA AND PRINCESS ÉCLAIR**

Rosalina was a mysterious woman who flew in with a floating star by her side. She was the Protector of the Cosmos, so she was very popular. Her companion, Princess Éclair of the Waffle Kingdom, used candy-based attacks and was known for her mean streak and absolute onslaught on the battlefield, contrary to the ladylike appearance.

 **PRINCESS ZELDA AND MIDNA**

Zelda and Midna seemed to be on bad terms, seeing as they stood as far from each other as they could, giving each other dirty looks. Midna transformed into a taller woman with ginger hair in comparison to her "imp" form, which got all the men ga-ga for her.

" **TOON" LINK AND TETRA**

Toon Link was an animated Link from an alternate dimension and Tetra was a streetwise and tough Pirate Captain, despite her dainty appearance. Toon Link got thrown into the air by Tetra as a joke, earning in a childish and cartoon yell to emerge from his throat as he miraculously landed on his stubby feet.

 **CAPTAIN DOUGLAS FALCON AND SAMURAI GOROH**

Captain Falcon was a blue-clad ace racer who specialized in pyrokinetic martial arts, most famously the Falcon Punch. Samurai Goroh was a brute of a man, and was known for his no-nonsense attitude and his superb samurai sword skills that even a ninja could be jealous of. They were met by a massive round of applause.

 **GRENINJA AND ABSOL**

Greninja was a ninja-dressed man who had a strange scarf around his neck and lower face. He was also an aquakinetic and a Pocket Creature, having abilities similar to a frog. Absol was a male also, but wore a white open-chest jacket and tracksuit, with a black appendage of sorts sticking out of his blinding albino lop of hair. It was said he brought misfortune. It seemed true. As he stepped past one cameraman, the camera blew up.

 **IVYSAUR AND SNEASEL**

Ivysaur, a dark green-haired Pocket Creature with powers over nature and Sneasel, a female assassin with dark powers were surprisingly met by a bit of silence. They weren't popular nor unpopular, mainly because everyone feared Sneasel's quick changes in emotion which could easily led to chaos.

 **GANONDORF AND ZANT**

Boos went up for Ganondorf and Zant and they knew why: they were seen as cheaters after a scandal the previous year cost them dearly as they tried meddling with the items. It was so big that they almost got kicked out and only remained in because MH thought the show would be "boring" without them.

 **KIRBY AND KNUCKLE JOE**

Kirby was an oddity of a boy, being able to copy abilities and inhale objects larger than himself. Knuckle Joe was an old ally of his, and used a Vulcan Jab, Smash Punch and a Roundhouse to light the sky with white energy. Kirby cheered, inhaled one and became "Fighter Kirby" to multiple the attack.

 **CORRIN AND KAMUI**

Brother and sister, the two white-haired sword masters, mixed with the DNA from dragons, were an unstoppable team. Sure, they were bottom, but they put that to bad luck and missed opportunities. Corrin was foul-mouthed while his sister was sweeter and much more popular.

 **NOW, MAKING THEIR SMASH WARS X DEBUT…NANA AND POPO!**

The two were met with a big amount of applause. Nana soaked it all in, very eager while Popo winced and felt highly intimidated. After a reassuring look from Nana, he gulped down his fear and the two shot ice out to wow the crowd. Realizing they were next, the first instinct Sonic had was to run away. He couldn't stop the panic. Mario smiled still and linked their arms. After smiling back, they heard MH's voice.

 **LASTLY…HE'S BEEN GONE FOR 3 YEARS BUT HE'S BACK! GIVE IT UP FOR MARIO AND HIS NEW PARTNER, SONIC!**

Mario led the way into the light of the arena. It was more massive than Sonic imagined but he knew everyone was looking at him in assessment. Mario waved, with Sonic meekly copying. After a nod, Sonic created a massive whirlwind, earning in awed whoops. Mario also created an inferno which increased the noise. They joined the rest of the teams in the centre of the arena. Master Hand flew down and tapped a microphone.

"Teams, let me recap the rules. Each team shall fight all others teams twice: once in a Home Stage and one in an Away Stage. Points will be dished out according to the results. It will be 3 points for a win, 2 for a draw or 1 for a loss. All items will be enabled. Also, as these are real battles where death can occur, I grant each team member 10 stock. These do not replenish and losing all 10 will result in a disqualification and you and your team will be removed from the roster, so please do your best but also be…"

Before MH could finish his sentence, the stadium snapped into darkness, panicked screams coming up from most people, including Sonic. Mario used his fire for a light and sent a beacon into the sky to provide a little light. He clutched Sonic's hand tight.

"Is everyone alright?" He got a lot of nods and nervous smiles.

"I didn't schedule a blackout…" Samantha muttered, now appearing next to MH. She was carrying a clipboard. "Oh, this is going to throw everything off."

"Someone get the backup power working!" MH ordered but one of the stagehands nervously twiddled his fingers.

"Backup power's…um…down, sire."

"WHAT!?"

An explosion went from the other side of the stadium. Everyone saw a silhouette approaching them, a magenta glow emanating from their chest.

"Who are you!? Did you do this!?" MH ordered. A male laugh came.

"Why, yes. Yes I did. Don't worry, if you hand over my prize, I won't be forced to get physical."

"Your…prize…?" Éclair muttered. Mario would have yelled at him to more information but he felt Sonic clench his hand extremely tight. His eyes were tiny with terror and were wild. Before Mario could ask what was wrong, he took into account the boy's appearance. Mobian, definitely jackal, no more than 12 years of age…the penny dropped.

"I know who you are."

"Oh, do you now?"

"It's Mason, isn't it?" Everyone looked at Mario.

"Mario…you know this maniac?" Bowser growled. Mario nodded.

"Sonic's told me all about you and what your father did to him. Why are you here?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Mason sneered. "I'm here to kill him…after what he did to my father." Sonic seemed to snap back to reality as he pulled his hand free and glared at Mason.

"I wasn't responsible for Infinite's death." He snarled. "True, he probably deserved it but I never lay a finger on him."

"And you expect me to believe you, hybrid?" The nickname made Sonic growl ferally.

"You have no right to call me that."

"I can call you whatever I damn well feel like." Came the reply. "Even if you are not responsible, you deserve to die."

"On what grounds?" Mario butted in. "Do you have any idea how much hell he's gone through!?"

"Yes…I am aware of what my father did to him…but all that is a lie."

"W-What…?" This caught Sonic off-guard.

"My father wasn't the one who tortured you, Sonic…I was."

"…!?"

"You see, I happen to be a shape-shifter as well as a vampire, so it was easy to copy my father's shape, voice and personality. It pleased me to see someone like you suffer at the hands at someone you thought you could trust. But…it seems I have a loose end to cover up. Let's see here…" The jewel on his chest glowed magenta. **"You…will…obey…me!"**

Sonic felt all control seep out of him. All he could think of was following Mason's orders. He tried to fight it but it was too strong. His green eyes glowed purple, but no-one saw this.

"What are you doing!?" Mario demanded. Mason evilly chuckled.

"This, my pyro friend, is the Phantom Ruby. It can create powerful illusions, grant the wielder power beyond comprehension…and it also allows me to control whoever I wish. Sorry, but your Mobian friend only answers to me now."

"You can't control him like that!" Fox raged. "Better yet, you're bluffing!"

"He's not. I can't get a grip on his thought patterns anymore…" Krystal mused, getting a shocked look from Fox.

"And his aura has become warped and tainted…" Lucario added, eyes glowing golden. Instead of the blue aura Sonic had, it was now a consuming black and purple. Mason grinned. Mario felt rage consume him.

"Sonic, you have to fight it! Don't let him get to you!"

"It's too late, Mario. Sonic's already under my power." Mason turned Sonic around, and everyone could see his unseeing magenta irises. Mario could feel his heart was on the verge of breaking. "Now…let's test his power." He activated his Ruby and formed a gun out of pure energy, which he placed in Sonic's hand. **"Kill Mario. That is an order."** Mario gulped when Sonic's hand tightly gripped the holster of the gun and he nodded in understanding.

"…Understood…"

His tone was emotionless and dead, no life ran through his voice. He raised the gun so the shot was in align with Mario's heart. He looked ready to fire, but he didn't pull the trigger. His hand was faintly shaking.

" **What are you waiting for!? Kill him now!"**

Still nothing. Mario could see that Sonic was struggling for control as the shaking increased and his eyes looked at the gun in confusion.

"Sonic…concentrate on my voice. You can fight this! I believe you can! I'm not your enemy!" Mason only growled at him.

" **Friendship is an illusion, Sonic. Kill him!"**

"…No."

Mason jumped as Sonic's head struggled to look at him.

"W-What…what do you mean, no!?"

"..I…I won't…I won't…kill him…"

"Fine. Be that way." The Ruby glowed. **"I release you from my control."**

Sonic's eyes snapped back to green as he fell forwards, with Mario rushing to catch him. The gun tumbled to the ground.

"Sonic, can you hear me!?" Mario shook Sonic gently. His eyes flickered open, though he looked seriously confused.

"M-Mar…wha…?"

"I'll explain it to you later." He guarded Sonic with his body. "Listen Mason, if you want Sonic, you have to get past me first."

"I could easily arrange that…but this charade is now boring me. I'll be back and next time, I shall take Sonic's life with me." He disappeared in a teleport and all the lights came back on, alongside the cameras which were off for the 15 minute blackout.

"The next time he shows his face, I'm going to kill him." Lucario glared at Necrozma, whose statement had everyone looking at him in shock. Krystal looked over at Mario and Sonic.

"Is he OK, Mario?"

"I think so…but he's a bit out of it."

"Well, he was mind-controlled. That usually leaves you a little groggy." Mist muttered.

"Well said, sis." Ike agreed. MH sighed.

"I guess…that's the end of the ceremony then, seeing as we've essentially lost our TV time slot…"

"MH!" Came the angered chorus. After a short pause, MH blinked blankly and shrugged.

"…What?"


	6. VS Nana and Popo (Battle 1)

**A/N: Sorry if the Italian's wrong. I just used Google Translate.**

 **XO**

~ 19th January ~

OK, now this was getting worrying.

Ever since the opening ceremony, which had been almost 24 hours ago, Sonic hadn't said a word. He had curled himself into a ball and was staring into space, eyes glassy and blank without the slightest gleam in them. He cared nothing about anything around him, almost like the whole experience had drained the life out of him. Mario had tried everything to get _something_ out of him but hadn't gotten anywhere. He felt at fault. He hadn't protected Sonic against Mason, and Sonic had been forced into a position where he had been pointing a gun at the man who he had just entered a relationship with. No doubt he was feeling low and powerless, not to mention freshly traumatized from the experience. That was a big problem. Tomorrow was their first match against newcomers Nana and Popo. Mario was just worried that, due to Sonic's state of mental health, they wouldn't be able to enter the arena. Eventually, he had lost it, curling up against Sonic, sobbing. The Mobian felt cold to the touch, skin like ice. He made himself warm. Surprisingly, he felt movement as Sonic nudged closer to him, desperate for the warmth, as well as turning over so the two met eye contact. Mario hugged him tight, running his fingers through his azure-locked hair. He saw tears drip from Sonic's eyes.

"Hey…" Mario gently wiped the tears away with his finger, smiling and planting a kiss on his boyfriend's damp cheek. He flinched but said nothing in response. "…I know you're blaming yourself for last night…but it wasn't…it wasn't your fault, Sonic." He hugged him tighter, keeping his arms around Sonic's waist and torso. He felt cold arms hug him back, his head resting against his stomach, a small sad smile crossing his face. He broke down as he muttered a continuous stream of apologies under his breath, obviously fearing that Mario hated him for zoning out. "It's OK. It's alright now. It's all over now." They sat up, with Sonic rubbing his eyes until they stung from where the skin had been repeatedly rubbed red.

"…I-I'm sorry Mar…" He mumbled, voice raspy and broken from how much he had been crying. Mario smiled and they kissed, hands interlocked tightly.

"We're in this together, remember? He won't harm you again. I won't let him."

That got Sonic. He jerked away from Mario's grasp, his breathing quickening. Mario bit his lip. He guessed that horrific images of what Mason could potentially do to him were flashing in the boy's mind and it was really scaring him. He gently shushed him.

"I know you're scared of him. I am too." He got a look.

"I-I don't want to lose you to him, Mar. I-I love you too much." He broke down a second time, cradling Mario close to him. Flashing a small smile, Mario nuzzled his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere." Mario promised, stroking Sonic's small hedgehog ears with a free hand, getting a cute purr as an answer. "That's a promise." An idea came to him. "Hey, how about we go and get some hot chocolate, eh? That should cheer you up." He waited for a response. The idea, to Sonic, was definitely appealing but he seriously wasn't in the mood. However, desperate to get out and about, he nodded.

"Alright then. Let me jus' mop myself up real quick." He slipped into the bathroom. Mario wasn't fooled. He could tell what Sonic wanted to do and his theory was confirmed when the smell of blood hit his nose. He waited for Sonic to come out. When he did, the two locked eyes. Sonic was pretty good at guessing Mario's emotions and he had forgot Mario could tell when he self-harmed. Shame crossed his face but he jumped when he felt Mario grab his hand protectively, giving it an assuring squeeze. A small smile made everything OK again. He could see a few drops of blood dripping onto the carpet. Much to Sonic's surprise, Mario rolled up his hoodie sleeve and licked the blood, sucking on the wound to stop it bleeding. It felt weird, especially when he felt the sharp fangs touch his skin. He resisted the urge to jerk away from the Italian's grasp. Mario then pulled back, examining his handiwork. Sonic eyed him weirdly. "I don't know if that's the grossest or the sweetest thing you've ever done."

"Well, you can take from that what you will. Drink?"

"Yea'. Drink." Opening the door, the two headed downstairs. Luckily, the kitchen was empty. Then again, it was past 10 at night. Mario began making hot chocolate in two mugs. After the beverage was complete, he pushed the mug to Sonic.

"The mug's going to be hot. Be careful."

"I will." Sonic slowly sipped the drink and some of the colour returned to his face. That made some of Mario's inner worry calm a bit. A loud rumbling sound came and Sonic sweatdropped before laughing nervously. "I think that's my body tellin' me I'm hungry."

"Well, you haven't eaten all day. Hang on, let me see what I can find…" He dug around in cupboards and found a pot of biscuits. "You alright with some biscuits?" He got a nod. He got the pot down and opened it, but suddenly stopped. A note was on the tin.

PROPERTY OF KIRBY. DO NOT EAT…OR YOU WILL HAVE HELL TO PAY.

"Uh-oh…"

"What?" Sonic asked, half-way through his second biscuit.

"…These belong to Kirby and, believe me, he'll kill us if he finds us eating them." Sonic stopped mid-bite but cockily shrugged, finishing the biscuit in his hand.

"Meh, he won't know it's us." Mario glanced at his limiter with surprise but sighed.

"…Oh, what the hell." He started munching too. For a few minutes, the two sat in silence, carefully placing the jar back where it was found when they were finished. As Mario closed the cupboard, he heard a sharp and choked gasp. Turning, he found Sonic lying on the floor, eyes large and unseeing, face white as a sheet. Realizing he had blacked out, Mario was at his side in an instant, gently shushing the teen as he screamed and seized. Mario felt helpless in this situation. He had no control over Sonic during these; he just had to wait for the episode to finish.

"I-Is he OK!?"

Mario jumped and looked up. Much to his surprise, it was their local Prince Valiant, Marth. He was dressed in pyjamas and had an empty coffee mug in his left hand. He looked alarmed, cyan eyes full of worried shock.

"Yeah, he'll be OK in a minute or two. He blacks out sometimes."

"…That isn't normal though!"

"Considering his past, it left him with bad mental trauma and last night's just made it worse. Why do you think he's been silent all day?"

"…Good point." Mario had noticed Sonic had grown silent. He was sluggishly blinking in confusion, a hand reaching up to rub his forehead as it ached with a dull pain. Mario helped him sit up, checking him over. Marth had gone and made a drink of water, which Sonic graciously accepted. He seemed to guess what had happened and flashed a panicked look, probably because he was scared of a stranger who had seen him black out. However, Marth had a look of kind concern, something that made Sonic panic a bit less. The knight knelt to his level, smiling. "I don't think we've met formally, Sonic. My name is Marth."

"…Marth? Haven't heard that name before." He commented, taking a small sip of water.

"It is a rare name."

"Where's your limiter?"

"Um…no idea to be honest with you. Nyna always likes hanging out with the girls more than me, what with her being a princess and all. She bonds with Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and them. You get the gist." Sonic didn't really get girls but he nodded in understanding. He tried standing but he felt faint. Mario carefully sat him back down.

"Just take it easy, alright?" He soothed, getting a nod as Sonic's vision realigned and the dizzy spell waned. He just sipped the water more, knowing that the more he drank, the better he would feel.

"I'm looking forward to your exhibition match tomorrow." Marth chuckled. "It'll definitely be interesting."

"They're arctickinetics. Sonic'll be at a disadvantage as the air around him will most likely freeze up."

"You can counteract that with your flames, tho'." Sonic added, getting a laugh.

"True. Fire and wind do make a strong team."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Apparently, Link and Navi aren't favourites anymore ever since they got that 5 match nullification." Marth commented.

"5 match what?" Sonic asked, clearly confused.

"After what Link did to you yesterday, he won't claim points for his first 5 battles, even if he wins. No doubt that's annoyed some Link fans. Biting limiters, though, is highly frowned upon, so he definitely deserved the punishment." Sonic, on a reflex, felt the clotted marks on his neck. They had gone down but they were still there. "I better go find Nyna. I'll see you guys later." He left the room. Sonic could tell Mario looked a bit…angry.

"If Link knows what is good for him, he won't do that again." Mario growled, hands lighting up. "He better watch his step, or I'll...!"

"W-Whoa, Mar, whoa! Calm it, will ya?" Sonic pleaded, slinking back. Realizing he was scaring his boyfriend, Mario stopped what he was doing, pulling an ashamed look.

"S-Sorry. I got too fired up there."

"It's fine." Sonic managed to stand successfully this time, though he was still a bit sluggish. "We'll need that fiery spirit tomorrow."

"We best get some rest. Battle starts at 11am tomorrow."

"Can you run me by the rules again?"

"Sure. Battles ar and a team wins by knocking their opponents out of the arena, which is augmented reality-controlled, or if they run out of HP, in which case they are teleported out of the arena. Simply put: just knock them out. Smash Balls appear once in a while (while still being randomly generated) and healing items are allowed this year, but each team member can be healed only once. Teams get 3 points for a win and 1 point for a loss. If there is no winner after 30 minutes, MH and CH choose the winner based on aggression, teamwork, damage taken and overall style and grace. The winner then is awarded 2 points for a judges' decision. Understand all that?"

"Not all of it but I'll learn it as I go."

XO

~ 20th January ~

Sonic had to admit, he wasn't aware all of the other teams were going to watch the match. What he was also unaware of was that they, alongside Nana and Popo, were OPENING the competition. That scared him. Fighting on live television is scary enough but when it was to start off the competition, this was going to be interesting. He wasn't mentally prepared for this, but he was friendly with the twins enough to know they wouldn't go all out. Not after what happened 36 hours ago. Mario gave his quivering arm a calming squeeze.

"We've got this. Just go all out, 'kay?"

"…'Kay." Came a scared reply. Mario, making sure no-one was around, pecked his cheek.

"Hey, deep breaths, alright? We can do this."

"Easy for you! I-I don't even know what I'm doing!"

"I know. Just grind on their health. Leave the technical side of things to me."

" **ALL COMPETITORS, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"**

"Ready?"

"…I-I…I 'spose so."

"Come on then." The two went to some teleportation pads and found themselves on an ice summit. "Summit…great…aka the coldest stage in the tournament."

"Yea'…I can feel it." A bad shudder went up Sonic's spine. Mario, alarmed that Sonic's body might not be able to take the freezing temperatures for long, formed a small ring of fire, similar to a badge or a broach, and pinned this onto Sonic's hoodie.

"There. That should keep you warm."

"I do feel a bit less cold. Thanks Mar."

Nana and Popo teleported in then, twin hammers twisting in their gloved hands.

"You ready to go?" Nana asked. Popo nodded in agreement to the question. Mario grinned in determination.

"You bet! We may all be newcomers but we'll show you we're plenty strong!"

… _I'm just happy this might be a friendly match…_ Sonic chuckled in his head, trying to relax.

" **This is going to be a great fight, folks! Two newcomer teams both hungry for their first taste of victory but which team has the correct chemistry to come out on top? On my left, the popular Eskimo duo! Nana and Popo!"** Master Hand's loud voice was going to be commenting on the fight. Sonic rolled his eyes. He still wasn't fond of the God, and he was sure the God would do all in his power to make him and Mario lose. After all, he DID want Mario dead…and now him as well. The two Eskimos waved at the mention of their names, imagining the amount of people cheering. **"And the mix of fire and wind on my right! Mario and Sonic!"** They also waved, though the majority of other teams booed. Luckily they couldn't hear them.

 **3…**

 **2…**

 **1…**

 **GO!**

Mario dashed forward before Sonic got the chance to comprehend that the fight had started. The plumber launched a series of fireballs at the duo before realizing that Sonic was staring at him with great confusion. After an eye gesture, Sonic seemed to grasp his task and ran into Popo, landing a direct punch to the face. Next to him, a red ball of sorts landed by his feet. He took it and examined it. What was it? He threw it away, thinking it useless, only for it to open.

" **Oh! Fletchling's in the arena folks!"**

Inside was a young girl with feathers who landed pecks to Popo's face and chest before winking at the boy before disappearing. Mario chuckled.

"That was a Pocket Creature. Those balls spawn them and they act as a fighting companion for 20-30 seconds. Cool, huh?" Sonic nodded at this, barely dodging Nana's hammer swing that forced air into his face. He used the opportunity to kick the girl in the stomach, severely winding her. She fired shots of ice, freezing Sonic's aerokinesis, momentarily freezing him solid, but he was able to break free. The ring on his hoodie shone and warmed him slightly but he was very cold. Angry at this, he found himself speeding forward but tripped, but his body went into a somersault and landed on Nana as a blurred homing attack of sorts, pushing her back. As he landed, he looked at his legs.

"…Huh. Neat."

" **Look at that attack! A new secret technique maybe? This is becoming really exciting!"**

Grinning at the compliment from Master Hand (surprising that he had complimented HIM of all people), he dashed back into battle and performed the attack again but horizontally, knocking Nana into Popo. He glanced at the health bars. He hadn't lost much and neither had Mario, but both Eskimos were just below half their health after around 11 minutes. That went by quickly. A rainbow glow danced above his head.

A Smash Ball.

" **The first Smash Ball is in the arena! Who will get it first? Who will dazzle the competition with their ultra-special Final Smash!? It's still anyone's game!"**

Everyone went for it at once. Unfortunately, Nana jumped on Sonic's head and broke the ball open. She and Popo high-fived and launched their Final Smash: Iceberg. A massive ice mountain appeared on top of the mountain they were already on, drastically lowering the temperature. For Mario, this wasn't much of a problem but for Sonic, he felt faint. His heart banged in his chest. Something was wrong. Noticing an opening, Nana launched one massive hammer swing and KO'd the Mobian.

 **SONIC – KO'D.**

" **OH! He is OUT! Splendid tactics from the Eskimo duo here! Is this the end of our beloved re-entrant Mario?"**

Upon hearing this, Mario looked around, seeing that his teammate, and boyfriend for that matter, was gone. Rage filled him. He launched a huge fiery punch, hitting Popo out of the arena with ease.

 **POPO – KO'D.**

Nana, alarmed, fruitlessly shot ice at Mario, who dodged and came up behind her.

"Boo."

One punch later and the Eskimo girl was gone.

 **NANA – KO'D**

A horn went off.

 **CEASE!**

Mario exhaled sharply, gasping for air. That felt good. Really good. The augmented reality powered down as he was teleported back into the lobby.

" **How about that!? No-one was expecting that, surely! What a surprising win! This may prove to be a tough team to beat! The new combination of fire and wind has won against the odds! 3 points go to Mario and Sonic and 1 measly point go to Nana and Popo!"**

As Mario teleported out, something was wrong. He had expected Sonic to be in the lobby waiting for him but there was no sign of him. The lobby door suddenly flung open and Nana was in the doorway, breathing heavily. She locked eyes with Mario and dragged him out of the room, much to the gawks of most other teams who watched through surprised eyes.

"Hey-hey-hey! What's going on?" He asked, trying to remove the young girl from his wrist but with no luck. She looked upset. She stopped running and let go, giving Mario a look that spoke both panic and sorrow.

"It's Sonic."

Mario blinked at his limiter's name and fearfully gulped.

"W-Why? Is he alright?"

"When me and Popo got KO'd, we were expecting him to not be there still…but he was."

"Let me guess…you KO'd him a bit too hard and he got knocked out."

"That was our assumption b-but…" She shuddered and started crying. "W-When we went to check him over…he felt so cold…"

"Cold? But I gave him that Fire Badge to reflect the cold…!"

"If he was purely an aerokinetic, it would have worked. However, I know a lot about Mobian biology, because we used that to our advantage. We knew we'd have the upper hand. Mobians, since they have animal DNA as well as human, it messes up their bodies in several ways, including regulating body temperature. Mobians can catch colds quickly and their inner temperatures can sometimes fluctuate. Seeing as we did our Final Smash so close to him, the arena temperature drastically decreased beyond a limit that Sonic's body could take."

Mario found himself unable to speak.

"S-So…is he going to be OK!?"

"…I don't know. Popo called over Master Hand and they've taken him to the infirmary so I'm not sure." Before she got chance to say more, Mario had already run off, tears streaming down his cheeks. His hands were in tight fists. Why hadn't he known that!? He could have done more to protect him. He knew they were at a disadvantage but it was really a miracle that they had won. He managed to reach the infirmary and just as he fiddled with the door, he heard yelling within the room.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Came the bellowing of Master Hand. "You have NO right to criticise my choices!"

"Normally, I wouldn't!" Giovanni yelled back. "Your stupid ploy to manipulate the game to disadvantage my cousin and his limiter so you can kill them both hasn't ended very well! They won the match anyway! They don't deserve to die, MH! After what that idiot jackal did, I would have thought you would have grown a heart!"

"I chose a challenging stage, end of!"

"Mobians are highly vulnerable to freezing temperatures! I'm pretty sure you know that from Nakamura! Your foolish choice might cost him his life, y'know!?"

Mario felt like the ground had given way under his feet. Sonic…was dying…?

"…N-N-No…" He slumped, heartbroken. He was too numb to cry, as his brain couldn't even comprehend what was happening. He didn't see the door open, amber eyes glancing down at the pyrokinetic with confusion. Giovanni noticed his cousin and ran to him, tightly bringing him in for a hug.

"I…I'm guessing Nana or Popo told you…" He got a silent nod. Giovanni gestured to MH to leave, which he did after giving a dark glance. After calming Mario down, he seemed to guess he had overheard the conversation. "I know what you're thinking. He'll be fine, honest."

"Y-You sure?"

"I'm around 95% sure."

"That doesn't fill me with confidence."

"I know that." He gently brought his cousin up to his feet. "I have to be blunt though, he's in a really bad way. Stupid MH, choosing the one stage that highly disadvantaged him." The infirmary was split into 2 sections: minor and major injuries. Mario had only been in the major suite twice in his career, but never not as a patient. He saw his friend lying in one of the beds, skin tinted cyan. He shook his head in denial before running to his side, clasping his hand. He jumped back. His skin was freezing. He saw Giovanni with a grim expression.

"Is he…is he gonna be OK…?" He fearfully asked. Giovanni sighed.

"I think so. It'll just take a while for him to fully warm up but he's very weak. I'm keeping him in major until he's stable."

"…Grazie." It wasn't often Mario spoke his native tongue of Italian. He rarely did nowadays. Giovanni smiled at this.

"Non c'è problema."He gently replied, deciding to give Mario some alone time with his limiter. Mario sat on a small chair, gently sending heat into Sonic's body. He wasn't sure if it would help but he hoped to God it did. He didn't see MH watching him suspiciously. He was confused at the interactions between the two and had been for a while now. What made him surprised is when Mario leant in and planted a small kiss on Sonic's pale cheek. Tears slipped down the vampire's cheeks as he choked on a sob.

"D-Don't leave me…please…" He broke down, his head now hanging low. "…t-ti amo …"

MH's amber eyes widened. Had he just heard that? He knew "ti amo" was Italian for "I love you". He felt a divide in emotion. Half was disgusted while the other half…was regretful.

" _Promise me…you won't destroy love…you can break many things in this world, my son, but love is a thing that does not break. True love must flourish."_

He snapped back to reality. Sure, he promised that…promised to his mother, the previous overseer of Smash Wars, that, while he was now ruler of the game, he could not meddle with romantic relationships.

Including killing those involved in one.

Was it true? These two were…? No, there was no mistaking it. The affection in the vampire's eyes were unmistakable. He weighed up the facts. Mario's overprotectiveness of the boy. Sonic's inability to hurt him even when under mind-control. It all weighed up. Smacking his lips together, he pulled a document out of nowhere. A contract.

"Mario."

Mario whipped around, fire in his eyes.

"This is your fault." He snarled, flames gathering around his fists. "…How could you do something like this to him!?"

"I agree…this is my fault." He nodded, showing Mario the document. "'Member this?"

"The contract about the whole "win-the-tournament-or-you-die" deal?"

"I like to call it a termination agreement but that works too and yes, that is this document. And you know what I'm going to do?"

"Add on some new terms?"

"No, actually." He drew a small penknife and swiftly sliced the piece of paper into confetti-sized pieces. Mario watched them float down to the ground in surprise.

"W-What are you doing…?"

"I'm going back on the deal. I'm not going to try and hurt you nor Sonic anymore. I won't break love."

"W-Wait…you know!?" Mario bit his lip. "I…I can explain…!"

"No need to." A genuine smile crossed his mouth. "…It's OK. I don't mind."

"Why are you OK with this?"

"When my dying mother handed over Smash Wars X to me 2 centuries ago, she made me promise to not destroy love within this community. The community I'm meant to both rule over and dictate, but also love as a family…which I don't do. Here I am trying to kill a pyrokinetic who is one of the best veterans we have."

Mario thought about this, not sure whether to believe MH or not. Nevertheless, he sighed.

"Well…thanks, I guess."

"I'll suspend your battles until Sonic recovers…and then I can apologise to him as well."

"OK." Mario nodded as MH went off, sighing. Mario turned back to Sonic, sadly smiling and he lay his head on the mattress, his hand still holding his. "Ti amo…always…" He was starting to fall asleep and eventually did, unaware of the single tear that ran down Sonic's face.

XO

~ 21st January ~

Mario woke groggily, momentarily unaware of where he was. He then remembered. Infirmary. Majors. He glanced at Sonic. He had a bit more colour but he was still unconscious. Mario stroked his cheek and then went to the ear, feeling the velvet texture of his love's fur. How long would this last? A few days? Weeks? Months? …Or would he wake up at all?

Mario choked back more tears. He didn't want to think that. He wasn't losing his boyfriend. Not from this. Not from something as inhuman as nature. He hid his face in his arms, beginning to sob. He didn't care who heard him, not MH, not Giovanni, heck, not even Sonic himself if he could. He had to let out his hatred of the situation, his helplessness, guilt and heartbreak.

Sonic twitched, opening both eyes weakly. His ears picked up sounds. Crying? He looked down, seeing Mario's crying form. The sobs were harsh, making him flinch. He teared up but still smiled, running his shaking hand through Mario's brunette hair. Mario jumped a bit, thinking it to be probably his cousin checking he was alright.

"…W-Why are you cryin', Mar?"

Mario jumped again, snapping his head up as he recognised Sonic's voice. For a second, he just blinked like a fish before gently wrapping his arms around Sonic's shoulders, crying more but this time out of joy.

"Y-You're alright! Thank the stars…"

"H-Heh…I'm OK, Mar." Despite this, he was violently shivering. Mario grabbed a spare blanket from a storage shelf and draped it on his arms, kissing his forehead.

"There. That'll warm you up."

"Thanks Mario." He suddenly realized something. "The battle! Oh man, I totally blew it." He had his face in his hands. "God, I'm an idiot…"

"Don't worry about it. We won."

Sonic stared at him.

"W-We…what…? Won?"

"Yeah…KO'ing the eskimos? Easy."

"So…we're…"

"At the top of the leaderboard for the time being." He chuckled. Sonic chuckled too, pulling the blanket tighter to his skin and shivered. Mario chuckled and kissed his forehead. "You need to rest. You need to recover."

Sonic was about to retort but knew he wouldn't be able to pretend he was fine in this sort of situation, considering he could barely muster enough strength to sit up. Sighing, he began falling asleep, purring as Mario petted his head, running his fingers through his azure locked hair.

"I love you Mar…"

Mario smiled and blushed, stroking his ear. "Ti amo Sonikku."


End file.
